Report of an unusual cause of rhinolithiasis: an 'opioma'

Abstract

We report an unusual case of unilateral rhinolith. The patient was a 21-year-old man who had a history of left-sided nasal obstruction and recurrent bouts of fetid, purulent rhinorrhea of several years'duration. The rhinolith, which had formed around an impacted foreign body, was extracted in several pieces under local anesthesia. Laboratory evaluation revealed that the foreign body was a hardened mixture of codeine and opium wrapped in a small sheet of nylon-what we called an "opioma."