title: Cone beam CT imaging of airgun injuries to the craniomaxillofacial region.
abstract: In airgun injuries, the removal of the projectile is often recommended. The material properties of airgun projectiles make it difficult to determine their precise anatomical location using conventional radiological techniques. Conventional X-rays give only a two-dimensional representation of projectiles and do not allow a foreign object to be located precisely. Multi-slice computed tomography (CT) has become a standard tool in diagnosis. Metal objects can cause artefacts in CT scans and make it difficult to identify adjacent anatomical structures. By contrast, cone-beam CT (CBCT) provides three-dimensional images largely free from metal artefacts. The authors present three cases of airgun injuries and discuss the diagnostic and treatment approaches used. CBCT has proved to be a useful diagnostic tool in planning the treatment of craniofacial airgun injuries. It is superior to CT in detecting hard-tissue structural damage in the immediate vicinity of high-density metal projectiles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. constuehmer@web.de
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stuehmer
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Essig
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Bormann
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Majdani
authors.forename: N-C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Gellrich
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rücker