Ingestion of a foreign body is a problem seen in nearly all otolaryngologic practices. One of the least common complications of foreign-body ingestion is penetration and migration, which may lead to serious morbidity or even death. We report the findings of a retrospective review of a series of 5 patients who had presented with a complete foreign-body penetration. All of them had radiologic evidence of a foreign body, but findings on rigid endoscopy were negative. Computed tomography is the radiologic study of choice to identify penetrating foreign bodies. The foreign bodies in all 5 patients were extracted via an external approach.
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