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Short Communication
Introduction
Ear foreign bodies are a common complaint in paediatric patients attending the ENT casualty clinic. It is well known that a button or disc battery can cause severe tissue injury if left in situ via battery leakage and the production of chlorine gas and alkaline sodium hydroxide.1-4Therefore, urgent removal of such foreign bodies is essential. Even when the patient is under general anaesthesia, removal of these foreign bodies can be extremely difficult, resulting in trauma to the ear canal. In such situations, identifying the correct tool and using it in the correct way are key to success.5,6
In 1986, Landry and Edmonson reported the use of a magnetised screwdriver to successfully remove a button battery from the ear of a paediatric patient.7Since then, no similar case shave been reported.
Methods and Results
A nine-year-old boy presented to our ENT casualty clinic after inserting a small watch battery into his right ear the previous day. Upon examination, the battery was found to be impacted in the right external auditory canal in a vertical position. The skin of the ear canal was...