Vol.96 No.12 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 96 No.12 December 2003
A Chopstick as an Epipharyngeal Foreign
Body in an Infant
Ryuhei Nozaki
(Hamasaka Public Hospital)
Kojiro Tsuji, Hironori Takebayashi, Chihiro Hatta and Masafumi Sakagami
(Hyogo College of Medicine)
Force injuries of the soft and hard palates often occur in children, who tend to hold pointed objects in the mouth. In most cases, the injury is superficial and heals uneventfully. However, there have been several cases in which the object penetrated deeply into the epipharynx and had to be removed surgically. In this paper, a chopstick as an epipharyngeal foreign body in an infant is presented. A 2-year-old infant was referred to our clinic due to oral bleeding caused by a chopstick. There was no apparent piece of the chopstick visible. However, CT and MRI demonstrated the remaining chopstick in the soft palate through epipharynx, and flexible fiberscopic examination demonstrated a further piece of chopstick in the epipharynx. It was removed under general anesthesia and he recovered without complications. In the case of infants, it is difficult to determine the site of pain, personal condition and situation of the accident. Determination of residual foreign body is thought to be difficult with only a quick inspection of the wound. Physicians must conduct a proper inspection quickly and take precautions, especially when the foreign body is not found. Imaging study (CT, MRI) was useful in this case of a foreign body involving a chopstick.
Key words : chopstick, epipharynx, foreign body, CT, MRI