A Rare Complication of Nasal Retaining Loop Insertion

An 80 year old man was referred by his GP with a 6 week history of foreign body sensation in his left nasal cavity caused by an unidentified metallic wire seen on anterior rhinoscopy. With a combination of radiology and flexible nasendoscopy the cause was found to be a flexible guidewire that had been used to insert a nasal retaining loop (nasal bridle) 12 months earlier. This required removal under general anaesthetic. Fortunately this retained foreign body resulted in no long term sequela to the nasal cavity. To the authors knowledge there are no documented cases reported in the literature, and this case highlights the importance of developing guidelines of correct insertion and removal of these popular devices.