Hook, Line, and Sinker: Unusual and Interesting Foreign-Body Cases

David Eibling, MD

Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Vice Chair for Education, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

A six-year-old boy was camping with his family and awoke suddenly from sleep with a scratching sound in his ear. The family brought him to the emergency room when a live cockroach was seen in his ear. It was successfully removed without damage to the eardrum.

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Richard A. Chole, MD, PhD

Lindburg Professor and Chairman, Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis

Krazy Glue

The patient’s mother thought she was putting ear drops in her three-year-old’s ear. It turned out to be Krazy Glue. The bottles were similar and she mixed them up. Krazy Glue elevates the first layer of skin, so we decided to leave it for two or three days and see if it acted in the ear the way it does on the surface of hands; that is, peeling off. Sure enough, it did, and then we were able to take the patient to the operating room and gently pry this material loose from the skin of the ear canal. Fortunately, it had not attached to the eardrum. The ear canal grew new skin.

Nasal Splints

An older child, about 17 years old, had had discharge coming from both sides of his nose for about six or seven years. He had been treated for sinus problems as well as other suspected conditions. It turned out he had had nasal surgery seven years before that and the physician had never removed the splints from his nose. Apparently the doctor had forgotten. He had these retained nasal splints in his nose for seven years. We cleaned out his nose and suctioned the discharge. We could see these shiny objects that were sewn to the septum. We made sure to let the prior physician know about it.

Chewing Gum

We often see gum in the ear and nose. In one patient there was a mass in his nose. Because it was red and hard, the referring physician thought it was a nasal tumor. It turned out it was bubble gum that had been in there for about a year.

Gerald Healy, MD

Chief of Otolaryngology at Children’s Hospital Boston, from a list of unusual cases supplied from his department

Unexpected Delivery

I took a toy baby out of a child’s throat. It was about two or three inches long, like a full kewpie doll, but smaller. I remember thinking, Gee, I liked OB rotation, but…