The usefulness of helical CT in the diagnosis of a cervical wooden foreign body: A case report

Abstract

A1-year-and-1-month-old boy presented with a wooden foreign body in a right cervical lesion after falling down. The foreign body was the broken tip of a wooden chopstick which was penetrating into his neck. No foreign bodies were reliably detected by plain film. We then used helical CT for the diagnosis of the foreign body. A wooden foreign body, 2.2 cm long and 2 mm in diameter, like a rod, was shown embedded in his neck by reconstructing 3D images of helical CT. The wooden foreign body was removed through an incision of the neck under general anesthesia. In this case, helical CT was helpful in the diagnosis of a radiolucent wooden foreign body in a cervical lesion.