[A dangerous nasal foreign body: the button battery]

The effects of an incorporated button battery as a nasal foreign body with regard to the endonasal structures are serious. The following case report will illustrate this on the case of a 4?-year old boy. The acute treatment consisted of the removal of the battery and the debridement of the necroses. Already these measures required considerable medical expenditure. Reconstructive measures which may be needed in the future, will also require a lot of resources. Button batteries as incorporated nasal foreign bodies can lead to severe damage to the endonasal mucoperichondrium. It can lead to necrosis of the nasal septum cartilage and to consecutive nasal septum perforation. Based on these experiences and a review of literature, the conclusions should be drawn that an incorporated button battery should be considered as an ENT emergency case and the immediate removal of the foreign body should be striven for.