Surgical Treatment of Periorbital Foreign Body

Abstract

We present the rare case of a violence-related accident involving a periorbital foreign body and surgical treatment. A 43-year-old man was brought to the hospital with a foreign body lodged in his left eyelid. A ballpoint pen penetrated the upper lid and orbital floor and reached the maxillary sinus.The spring of the ballpoint pen was observed in the radiograph, but the other parts of the ballpoint pen were not seen.The ballpoint pen was retrieved along the path of insertion. The fractured part of the orbital floor was slightly enlarged with a drill to allow visual access during surgery. Plastic pieces and the spring of the pen were removed under endoscopy inside the maxillary sinus. The inferior orbital wall was successfully reconstructed and there were no postoperative complications.The unique features of this case include the nature of the foreign body and its trajectory; removal was particularly challenging because the foreign body was not clearly visible in the radiograph.