Multidisciplinary surgical management of an unusual penetrating foreign body of the face

Abstract

IntroductionFacial injuries by penetrating foreign body are unusual and require specific multidisciplinary surgical management. Case reportThis case report concerns a 20-year-old man who experienced a penetrating injury by a piece of wood to the face and describes the surgical approach to remove the wood and repair the injury. The foreign body had penetrated the infratemporal fossa, with an entry wound situated below the right eye and an exit wound in the neck, in contact with the left internal carotid artery. An adapted surgical strategy was necessary in view of the site of the foreign body. The internal carotid artery was controlled in order to follow the foreign body as far as its entry into the base of the skull. The proximity of the eye and carotid and jugular vessels and the deep penetration of the foreign body required the participation of interventional radiologists, head and neck and vascular surgeons and ophthalmologists. DiscussionThe site of the foreign body, precisely determined preoperatively, justified management by a multidisciplinary team to ensure rapid extraction, while limiting the risk of additional lesions. With a follow-up of 6 months, the patient did not present any sequelae of his facial injury.