Nasal foreign body (plain radiograph)

Case contributed by Daniel J Bell
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Poking pencil inside right nostril and a part became detached, patient could not retrieve

Patient Data

Age: 65 years
Gender: Male

21 x 9 mm soft tissue density opacity projected within the nasal cavity proper just posterior to the pyriform aperture and nasal vestibule. It lies on the floor of the nasal cavity. It has the appearance of an eraser from the tip of a pencil. Dental amalgam and crowns noted.

Annotated image

Blue ellipse outlines the foreign body in the nasal cavity.

Case Discussion

Usually, cases of foreign bodies in the nose requiring medical retrieval are in children. Often attempts by the child to remove the foreign body result in it being pushed further in! Occasionally nasal foreign bodies only come to medical attention decades later when the item has become calcified forming a rhinolith and patients present with an offensive nasal discharge.

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