Wooden Foreign Body Embedded in the Zygomatic Region for 2 Years

Abstract

We report a case of retained wooden foreign body in the zygomatic region which posed a considerable diagnostic difficulty and was the source of persistent draining sinus and other distressing symptoms. The patient was not aware of the foreign body in the maxillofacial region. In such cases a thorough history of the patient is of utmost importance. The case has been described to highlight the problems associated in managing unlikely foreign bodies at unusual facial sites when there is a possibility that radiolucent material is embedded in the wound.

Traumatic Foreign Body into the Face: Case Report and Literature Review

“…Knowing the object that caused the injury is very important to choose the type of imaging test to be requested. Glass fragments would hardly be properly diagnosed by plain radiographs [17]. …”

An unusual wooden foreign body in the face: a case report

“…The presence of foreign bodies in the maxillofacial area might entail risks for the patient, especially in cases where blood vessels of large caliber are involved and the resulting bleeding might lead to progressively severe situations; also, the close contact of these bodies with important structures such as nerves and salivary glands may result in a number of problems [4][5][6][7][8][9]. The list of objects described in literature includes sharp wooden sticks, screwdrivers, nails, iron bars, spears, knives, ice picks, umbrella handles, harpoons, fishing hooks, keys, drills, needles, forks, metal fragments, toys and pencils.…”

“…Penetrating foreign bodies always present a diagnostic challenge for the professionals involved, especially in decision-making in the case of an intervention, as this is an unpredictable surgery which is not part of the daily routine and because there are no location, shape, texture on palpation and radiographic analysis patterns. Surgical access must take into account characteristics previously described by associating these with the anatomy of the region and the object entry path [8,14,15]. As for location, inasmuch as the oral mucosa area near the parotid duct has a high incidence of salivary gland benign tumors, especially pleomorfic adenomas [7,9], foreign bodies inserted in this region are often difficult to diagnose, especially if a consistent history of trauma cannot be obtained.…”

Large piece of terracotta foreign body embedded in the submandibular region for two years

“…An embedded foreign body requires a high degree of clinical suspicion for diagnosis 5 , more so if it is asymptomatic. CT scan and plain radiographs help clinicians to locate them.…”

“…In the few reports of embedded foreign bodies penetrating from outside, they were removed soon after-as they were the consequences of accidental injury in a symptomatic patient, so specifically searched for 3,4 . Foreign bodies embedded like this in the head-neck region for a long time are extremely rare 5 and in none of the reported cases were these lodged close to vital structures.…”