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Traumatic tympanic membrane perforation by a needlefish: case report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2012

P Bijoor ,
T Rourke  and
H Thomson
P Bijoor
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Milton Keynes General NHS Trust, UK
T Rourke*
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Milton Keynes General NHS Trust, UK
H Thomson
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Wycombe District General Hospital, High Wycombe, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Mr T Rourke, 110 Oxford Street, Woodstock, OX20 1TX, UK E-mail: tomrourke@doctors.org.uk
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Abstract

Objectives:

We report a unique case of traumatic tympanic membrane perforation caused by a needlefish beak. We describe the mechanism of injury, the clinical findings and the treatment.

Case report:

An 11-year-old boy presented with otorrhoea and hearing loss secondary to a traumatic tympanic membrane perforation by a needlefish. The perforation was repaired by performing a myringoplasty, with satisfactory post-operative audiological results.

Conclusion:

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of its kind. It is recommended that careful examination of the middle-ear space should always be carried out prior to and during myringoplasty if there is a possibility of a foreign body.

Keywords

Tympanic Membrane PerforationMyringoplastyDeafnessTraumaNeedlefishBelonidae
Type
Clinical Records
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 126 , Issue 9 , September 2012 , pp. 932 - 934
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2012

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References

1Needlefish. In: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needlefish [25 October 2011]Google Scholar
2Those needlefish are not totally harmless after all. In: http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/needle.html [25 October 2011]Google Scholar
3McCabe, MJ, Hammon, WM, Halstead, BW, Newton, TH. A fatal brain injury caused by a needlefish. J Neuroradiol 1978;15:137–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Needlefish stabs diver to death in Vietnam. In: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/226080/Needlefish_stabs_diver_to_death_in_Vietnam [25 October 2011]Google Scholar