Survey of ophthalmology
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Survey of ophthalmology · Mar 1992
Case ReportsOrbitocranial wooden foreign body diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Dry wood can be isodense with air and orbital fat by computed tomography.
In computed tomographic (CT) scans, a wooden foreign body can appear as a lucency with nearly the same density as air or fat, and it can be indistinguishable from orbital adipose tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can localize these wooden foreign bodies in the orbit. We studied a case in which a wooden golf tee lodged in the right optic canal of a nine-year-old boy. ⋯ However, the golf tee was demonstrated by MRI as a low intensity image. Although it was removed by craniotomy with good neurological results, bacterial panophthalmitis led to enucleation of the eye. This case emphasizes the diagnostic value of MRI and the hazards of retained wooden foreign bodies.