To the Editor:
The article on management of foreign bodies in the ear, nose, and throat did not mention an additional technique I have used for more than 30 years that was first published almost 5 decades ago.1 Readers of a certain age may remember my description in AFP's Diary From a Week in Practice in 19982:
While doing research for a presentation on removing foreign bodies from the ear and nose in children, I came across an old article in the May/June 1977 issue of the Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology (p. 369) that described a “new” technique, using dental impression material for removing nonoccluding foreign bodies from the external ear canal. A semifluid dental impression material is injected into the external auditory canal, then removed after curing, with the foreign body attached. The technique was described as “a more pleasant experience,” for the patient and the doctor. [I] discussed the technique with a local dentist … [and] we waited for a good candidate. Today, a six-year-old came with left ear discomfort. A small bead was seen about halfway into the external auditory canal. The eardrum was intact. … The child was cooperative while [I] slowly filled the ear canal with the substance and some was placed externally to create a “handle” to pull out the core after curing. After 15 minutes, the patient was allowed to pull out the “core.” Out it came, impression material and bead. It was painless, easy, and fun! This technique should not be used with a tympanostomy tube in place.
This 1977 study reported a success rate of 92% (23 of 25 cases) in patients who had been referred from the emergency department.3
