Zeitschrift für Kinderchirurgie : organ der Deutschen, der Schweizerischen und der Osterreichischen Gesellschaft für Kinderchirurgie = Surgery in infancy and childhood
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A 3 mm metallic particle, which had blasted during grinding operation, shot into the neck of a nine year old boy, penetrated into the common carotid artery and embolized the right middle cerebral artery. There had been no neurological symptoms until four days after the injury. Suddenly, a mild left side hemiparesis occurred with accentuation of the arm. ⋯ Hence, the small particle may not be detected by a local radiogram, or may not be found on surgical exploration. Therefore, in all cases of neck wounds caused by low velocity injection of foreign bodies, radiological evaluation with skull-x-rays and a neurological examination should be done. If further special scans are required, these should be accomplished by axial computer tomography, because the metallic nature of the foreign bodies would prohibit the examination by magnetic resonance.