FOREIGN BODIES IN ENT
Foreign bodies are commonly seen in ENT practices, among all age group most commonly seen in children.
All foreign bodies require immediate removal.
Superficial foreign bodies may be removed easily by your specialist in out patient department.
Deep impacted foreign body may require surgical removal under local anaesthesia or general anaesthesia depending on age and location of foreign body.
In case of deep impacted foreign bodies radiological investigation like X-ray or Computed tomography scan is done to know the exact location of foreign body.
Foreign body in airway may be life threatening & may present with choking, gagging, wheezing discomfort or pain in throat, hoarseness, dysnoea or aphonia. When life threatening, it requires urgent endoscopic removal or patient may need emergency tracheostomy for ventilation purposes.
Foreign bodies may be lodged in food passage & it can be removed in OPD or requires endoscopic removal of foreign body by oesophagoscopy.
Foreign body in ear can be removed by syringing or with the help of forceps in OPD, in case of deep impacted foreign body may require open operation.
Foreign body in nose can be removed on OPD basis in case of cooperative child or may require endoscopic removal in uncooperative child.
Foreign bodies can lead to complications like
In bronchus, the vegetative foreign body will swell & block the airway and may result in emphysema.
In oesophagus, foreign bodies like batteries cause charring surrounding mucosa.
In nose, impacted foreign body can lead to septal perforation, rhinolith formation.
