S123 – New Approaches to Infratemporal Fossa Foreign Body Removal
Objectives 1) To understand indications for removal of foreign bodies (FB) from the head and neck. 2) To be able to describe the use of new surgical technologies for FB removal from the head and neck region. 3) To understand the clinical applications of a novel, minimally-invasive technique for removal of FB from the infratemporal fossa. Methods A retrospective review of 2 cases of infratemporal fossa foreign bodies, which were referred to a tertiary care facility for management utilizing a novel transoral, endoscopic, image-guided approach. Results Both patients presented with pain and trismus following failed attempts to retrieve foreign bodies–1 broken hypodermic needle and 1 torn cottonoid sponge-through open explorations. Use of endoscopic equipment for visualization and image-guidance system for precise localization enabled both objects to be removed through a transoral approach. Surgical removal resulted in improvement in pain and trismus in both patients who were discharged within 24 hours. Conclusions A new approach is now available for the minimally-invasive retrieval of radio-opaque foreign bodies in the infratemporal fossa, which avoids the need for extensive surgical dissection or an external incision.