Foreign bodies of the hard palate

Foreign bodies of the hard palate are rare occurrences with only 11 reported cases in the literature. These patients can present to the Otolaryngologist in a variety of ways and often with confusing histories. We present seven cases of foreign bodies adherent to the hard palate. The age range was three to eighteen months and the most common referring diagnosis was a suspected tumor (five patients). The most common object removed was a nut shell. In six of the seven cases the foreign body could be removed in the ambulatory clinic without the need for sedation or anesthesia. The clinical presentation, incidence and management is reported and discussed with reference to the literature. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.