title: Pitfall-to-avoid pharyngeal opacities caused by bismuth subgallate.
abstract: Bismuth subgallate is used occasionally as a hemostatic agent for packing the adenoidal and tonsillar beds after an adenotonsillectomy. Containing a heavy metal, it is relatively insoluble and poorly absorbed. It produces faint opacities on plain radiographs and these may mimic a foreign body or pharyngeal calcification. We report a 13-year-old girl with linear radiopacities in the nasopharynx and in the palatine tonsillar bed. Careful and complete clinical information pinpointed the exact (iatrogenic) cause of these radiodensities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radilogy, Montreal Children's Hospital, McGill University, Quebec.
authors.forename: W N
authors.initials: WN
authors.lastname: Tannous
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Azouz
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Tewfik
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001729:Bismuth; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005707:Gallic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006490:Hemostatics; D006801:Humans; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography
chemical_list: D006490:Hemostatics; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D005707:Gallic Acid; D001729:Bismuth; C002170:bismuth subgallate