Foreign Bodies


Common foreign bodies include:

  1. Gravel, dirt and wood
  2. Glass from windscreen lacerations or assaults
  3. Plastic from car components
  4. Metal projectile fragments

 

Management:

  • Explore all wounds with a sterile probe and take relevant soft-tissue radiographs. Some glass is radio-opaque
  • If there is any suggestion of ocular involvement, immediately ask an ophthalmologist to see the patient
  • Retain all foreign bodies; they may be of forensic value in subsequent litigation.