title: Craniofacial ballpoint pen injury: endoscopic management.
abstract: Penetrating facial injuries are not infrequent. There have been isolated case reports of unusual penetrating craniofacial trauma. We describe an unusual case of a 22-month-old child who suffered an external orbital injury from a ballpoint pen that penetrated the orbit, lamina papyracea, posterior ethmoid sinuses, and sphenoid sinus. Endoscopic sinus surgery was performed to extract the ballpoint pen nib after localization with computed tomography. Careful pediatric endoscopic sinus surgery techniques permitted safe foreign body extraction with minimal morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: LaFrentz
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Casler
mesh_terms: D004724:Endoscopy; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009915:Orbit / Q000293:injuries*; D013517:Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures; D013101:Sphenoid Sinus / Q000601:surgery; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*