The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-09-07


Dr. Mason, in a lecture on the surgery of
the Face" published in the Lancet, says that
foreign bodies such as cherry Stones locust
beans brass rings slate-pencils, screws, but
tons, pieces OF wood, pease, etc, are not untre
quently met with N the aural and nasal cavi-
tiles of children, and even of adults. Such
substances have been known to remain in one
or other of these cavities for nearly lifetime,
causing little or no inconvenience, Thus case
is related of lady from whose nOstril a for
cign body was dislodged during the act of
snceZing. 1t was found to he button whiCh
had belonged to her little brother when they
were both infants. Another case is recorded
in which piece of S|atepencil was removed
from a wOman's ear and which had been put
there when she was at school forty years before.
And third instance, in which chcrry-stone
had been in an ear for sixty years. \ case is
recorded of a gentleman, aged tOrty-One, from
whose ear piece of cedar wood was removed
| by Swinging, The patient remembered dis
tincty the fact of its introduction when he was
a boy at school, at least thirty years previous.
| No attempt had been made to extract 1t, and its
presence had not troubled him until now. 1t
occasionally happens however that Il good
deal of ntlammatory action Is set up by the
foreign body, as in the case of a girl who was
under the authors care IN the hospital, to
which she had been admitted on account of a
small stone in her ear She subsequently had
paralysis of the facial nerve. a case is report
ed of Il child who not only had facial palsy,
but died Of meningitis, caused by the pressure
of lobust-bean in the ear. Living larvae have
been found in the meatus Of the ear. DIR. Routh
publishes such Il case. The patient was gen
tleman who three years before was tormented
by fly near his ear. Commissions followed
the presence of the Larvae, but the patieat re-
covered although he remained Geat. DIR. Blake
of Boston, has seen four such cases. y case Is
| reported which shows the curious course taken
| by pin that had been introduced into the eX,
ternal meatus. 1t passed through the middle
ear, probably along the Eustachian tube, and
was extracted by the patient from her throat
| by hooking it with her finger. There are va
rous instruments employed for removing for
eign bodies from the ear, each good IN It's way
IA loop of WIRE or needle with the point
just slightly turned up, forceps, or any instru-
ment like that devised by the authors col
league Dr. Hone. This consists OF two pieces
of silk.covered silver wire, wound together in
Il single strand, about three inches in length,
the whole is insulated and stitfened with shell
lac the ends being left loose for connection
with battery and gavanometer; the object of
the electrical part being to detect the presence
of metallic bodies.
In dealing with foreign objects situated in
the external auditory meatus Swinging the
passage will often suffice to effect their remOv-
al; but in many cases forceps and other in
struments must be used, yet they should be EN-
ployed with the greatest caution. As rule,
if left alone the substance becomes loose, and
falls out on the pillow as the patient lies in
bed. In extracting foreign bodies from the ear,
NJ. Debout has recommended that the mouth
of the patient should at the same time be Kept
open 1t is sufficient to introduce the end OF
the finger into the external auditory canal, and
to make the lower jaw move, in order to be
come convinced of the enlargement that the
canal undergoes each time the condyle OF the
law is made to move. DR.. Noltilinl, in some
practical remarks on the subject, says that in
| the removal of these bodies we should never
employ force; not that foreign bodies should
ALWAYS be left in the ear, but that matters
should not be made worse by violent manipu-
lations More recently DIR. Dolby has laid
down the very practical law that no attempt
should be made to remove IA foreign body from
the ear unless the auditory canal be thoroughly
illuminated. Where this rule Is broken, the
Itympanic membrance Will most probably be
ruptured and the life of the patient be thus
placed in imminent peril.-SctcHtFt -lhert-
rJU