Finding a small 3-connected minor maintaining a fixed minor and a fixed element

LetN andM be 3-connected matroids, whereN is a minor ofM on at least 4 elements, and lete be an element ofM and not ofN. Then, there exists a 3-connected minor \(\bar M\) ofM that usese, hasN as a minor, and has at most 4 elements more thanN. This result generalizes a theorem of Truemper and can be used to prove Seymour’s 2-roundedness theorem, as well as a result of Oxley on triples in nonbinary matroids.