An Unexpected Foreign Body: A Hypopharyngeal Ant.

A 7-year-old male was brought to our emergency department with a sensation of a persistent lump in his throat after drinking an unsealed carbonated beverage. Flexible nasopharyngoscopy revealed a black ant in the right hypopharynx. Despite repeatedly drinking water, the ant could not be swallowed, and it had firmly attached to the posterior pharyngeal wall (Figure 1). After discussion with his family, it was decided to proceed with suspension laryngomicrosurgery under general anesthesia. Before the removal, we protected the airway with saline-rinsed cotton balls and then used a 10% Lidocaine-rinsed cotton ball to soak the ant, which was already dead during the removal. An additional foreign body was excluded by rigid esophagoscopy. The ant measured 6 mm in body length and had 2 antennae and faint bands on its abdomen (Figure 2). It may have been Polyrhachis dives, which is a common house-infesting ant throughout tropical Asia, including Taiwan. Its mouth parts have well-developed mandibles with keen teeth, which provide powerful bites in hunting and defense.