Post assault retained foreign body

Case contributed by Derek Smith
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Assaulted - attacked with broken bottle. Left facial swelling and inability to raise left upper lip.

Patient Data

Age: 35 years
Gender: Male

Evidence of retained foreign body over left dental arcade.

No other foreign body or underlying fractures.

Altered windowing and annotation highlighting three fragments of glass seen as straight opacities just medial to mandibular angle, longest fragment measuring about 6cm.

Case Discussion

With a history of assault and the possibility of neurological compromise, it is especially important to look for foreign bodies or any underlying fractures.

This patient was recalled to the emergency department after the plain film were reviewed by radiology for extraction of the glass fragments (under surgical care).

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