Foreign Bodies

Abstract

Chapter 29 discusses foreign bodies and trauma. An object that originates from outside the body is by definition considered a foreign body. The retained foreign body can occur in a variety of clinical settings, such as motor vehicle accident, explosion, or gunshot injury and is a common presenting complaint in the acute care setting. Although radiography is often obtained as the first line of imaging in the diagnostic workup of soft tissue foreign bodies, some object compositions, such as wood and plastic, are radiolucent. In this scenario, US is an excellent imaging modality in identifying a retained soft tissue foreign body and can also assist in its removal. Management of the superficial foreign body is typically uneventful, however, the deeply penetrating foreign body may require a more intricate surgical procedure because of proximity of adjacent vital structures.