International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery | May 2020 | Vol 6 | Issue 5 Page 983 International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery Sebastian GP et al. Int J Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2020 May;6(5):983-987 http://www.ijorl.com pISSN 2454-5929 | eISSN 2454-5937 Case Series Button battery foreign body among children: a case series Gerald P. Sebastian 1 *, Rajinidevi Kaliyan 2 , Pethuru Devadason 3 INTRODUCTION Ear, nose and throat foreign bodies in children frequently present to both general practitioners and otorhino- laryngologist. Most of the foreign bodies are non- hazardous like plastic objects, paper, coin, cotton, cereals or foam. The dangerous foreign body like button battery has the potential to cause serious sequelae if it is not removed immediately. Diagnosis is often delayed because the causative event is usually unobserved, the symptoms are nonspecific, and patients often are misdiagnosed initially. So general physicians need to have a high index of suspicion for foreign bodies in children with unexplained upper airway symptoms. 1 These foreign bodies can be either in ear, nose or throat. Patients with foreign bodies in the ear are often asymptomatic, and in most of the cases are in an accidental finding. 2 Others may have pain, symptoms suggestive of otitis media, hearing loss, or a sense of fullness in ear. 75 percent of patients with ear foreign bodies were younger than eight years as per the findings from several large case series. 3 Nasal foreign bodies tend to be located on the floor of the nasal passage, just below the inferior turbinate, or in the upper nasal fossa anterior to the middle turbinate. 4 Patients often present with unilateral, foul-smelling nasal discharge. Patients may be able to expel the nasal foreign body simply by “blowing their nose” while blocking the opposite nostril. 1 Referral should be obtained when the foreign body cannot be easily removed or adequately visualized. Pharyngeal and laryngeal foreign bodies should be suspected in patients with undiagnosed cough, stridor, or hoarse-ness. All pharyngeal and laryngeal foreign bodies are medical emergencies that require airway protection. Because complete airway obstruction usually occurs at the time of aspiration and results in immediate ABSTRACT In children the foreign bodies are a common occurrence which may be either accidental or self-induced as a matter of habit. Various materials like metal, plastic toy parts, food matters, etc have been reported as foreign bodies. Button batteries have been reported as foreign bodies in the ear, nose and throat are very relevant and practical, due to their early chemical disintegration in contact with mucosal surface; hence, need emergency surgical intervention to avoid complications. Here, we report five cases of button batteries in the ear nose and throat at various stages of presentation with their sequelae. Keywords: Button batteries, Foreign bodies, Nasal septal perforation, X-ray PNS, Leaking button battery 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Thanjavur Medical College, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Anaesthesiology, Govt Thiruvarur Medical College, Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu, India 3 Department of Community Medicine, Sree Mookambika Institute of Medical Sciences, Kulasekharam, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India Received: 26 November 2019 Revised: 08 March 2020 Accepted: 09 March 2020 *Correspondence: Dr. Gerald P. Sebastian, E-mail: drgerald94@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-5929.ijohns20201699