Laryngopharyngeal or cervical pain following ingestion of foreign bodies is one of the most frequently encountered emergencies in otolaryngologic practice. Although most of these foreign bodies can be easily removed under laryngoscopic examination without any complications, surgical removal may be required when foreign bodies migrate extraluminally. This report describes two rare cases of ingested fishbones that had migrated, one each to the thyroid gland and submandibular gland. Extraluminal migration fishbones should always be considered in otolaryngologic clinics.

Laryngopharyngeal foreign bodies are among the cases most frequently encountered by otolaryngologists. Most foreign bodies can be easily removed without any complications. However, surgical removal is required in some cases. Therefore, a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis could cause fatal complications for patients who need a surgical approach. We report a rare case of extraluminal migration of a foreign body to the deep cervical space. The foreign body (a fishbone) was removed by a surgical approach. With a literature review, we also propose an algorithm for the management of suspicious foreign bodies in the neck.