Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  2014 Sep;36(5):219-223. 10.14402/jkamprs.2014.36.5.219.

Successful Localization of Intraoral Foreign Body with C-arm Fluoroscopy

• Kang YH
• Byun JH
• Choi MJ
• Park BW

• KMID: 1993648
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14402/jkamprs.2014.36.5.219

Abstract

During surgical procedures, unexpected material, including surgical instruments and tissue segments, may get lost in the surgical field. Most of these should be immediately removed to prevent further complications, such as vital organ irritation, infection, and inflammatory pseudo-tumor formation. However, it is not always easy to define the exact location of the foreign body, especially if the item is very small and/or it is embedded in the soft tissue of the head and neck region. Intraoperative real-time radiological imaging with C-arm fluoroscopy can be useful to trace the three-dimensional location of small and embedded foreign bodies in the oral and maxillofacial area. We describe an unusual case of an embedded micro-screw in the intrinsic tongue muscle that had been dropped into the sublingual space during a lower alveolar bone graft procedure. The lost foreign body was accurately identified with C-arm fluoroscopy and safely removed without any further complications.

Keyword

Foreign bodies; Fluoroscopy; Mouth floor

MeSH Terms

Fluoroscopy*
Foreign Bodies*
Head
Mouth Floor
Neck
Surgical Instruments
Tongue
Transplants