A grisly event in the Kenai Peninsula.
We report an unusual manifestation of penetrating facial trauma. It was suffered by a recreational fly fisherman who was hiking away from a casting spot when he fell and was impaled by a section of his graphite flyrod. The circumstances of his injury, its clinical manifestations, and its imaging findings are discussed. Emergency physicians and radiologists should be aware of the computed tomography appearance of impaled foreign bodies and their capability to penetrate deeply to reach critical vascular and neurologic structures. The role of imaging in penetrating trauma to the face and skull base for guiding appropriate intervention is emphasized.
Klodnicki
Michael
M
UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School, University Hospital, Newark, NJ 07003, USA. mikeklod@gmail.com
Earley
Marisa
M
Baker
Stephen R
SR
Klodnicki
Walter
W
D000368:Aged; D000413:Alaska; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D020197:Head Injuries, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019291:Skull Base / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging