Foreign Bodies in the Ear, Nose, and Throat

ost patients with ear, nose, and throat foreign bodies are children; intellectually chal-lenged or mentally ill adults are also at increased risk. Often, family phy-sicians are able to remove the foreign body in the office. Successful removal depends on several factors, including location of the foreign body, type of material, whether the material is graspable (i.e., soft and irregular) or nongraspable (i.e., hard and spherical), physician dexterity, and patient cooperation. Table 1 provides an overview of common foreign bodies, removal techniques, and indi-cations for referral.1-1