Migrating Laryngeal Foreign Body

Abstract

We report the case of a 6-year-old boy who presented with a 2-month history of stridor and respiratory difficulty, preceded 1 month earlier by dry cough. The evaluation before admission revealed glottic narrowing due to diffuse inflammatory changes. On examination, the patient was seen to have biphasic stridor and respiratory distress with diminished breath sounds throughout both lung fields. Laryngoscopy revealed multiple polyps and granulation tissue causing marked laryngeal narrowing. No foreign body was detected in the larynx. Elective tracheostomy was performed before proceeding to bronchoscopy. The latter procedure revealed a foreign body in the left main bronchus. One week after the foreign body extraction, repeat bronchoscopy revealed nearly total disappearance of polyps and granulation tissues. The tracheostomy tube was removed and the patient recovered uneventfully. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of stridor caused by a migrating laryngeal foreign body. A thorough endobronchial examination should be carried out in patients with unexplained laryngeal polyps and granulation tissue.