A case of a foreign body in the tonsil or pharynx occurs frequently but is seldom serious. Ordinarily such a foreign body is coughed up spontaneously or expelled because of nausea. Thus, few patients consult specialists, most of them coming for the removal of fish-bones, spicules of other bones, bristles of a tooth-brush, etc., which are sticking in the crypts of the tonsil. A foreign body is never lodged in the same location for any length of time, because patients ordinarily seek medical treatment promptly.
In the outpatient department of the White Memorial Hospital a man consulted me for the treatment of sore throat. An impacted foreign body was found embedded in the tonsil. It consisted of about 4 inches (10.16 cm.) of the black, ebony-like, hard rubber mouthpiece of a smoking pipe with the upper end buried in the tissue of the tonsil and the other end floating somewhere