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Migrating foreign body in the tracheobronchial tree: an unusual case of firework penetrating neck injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

M. Sarwar Khan
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, North Hampshire Hospital, Basingstoke, UK
P. M. Kirkland
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, The Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK
R. Kumar
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Frimley Park Hospital, Camberley, UK

Abstract

Firework injuries can manifest themselves in many different ways; usually as an explosive or burn injury. This case describes an unusual presentation of a firework penetrating injury resulting in a sharp coiled metal foreign body travelling through a small entry wound in the neck and subsequently lodging itself in the tracheobronchial tree. A foreign body such as this can potentially travel a considerable distance through the soft tissues and end up in an unsuspecting distant site. There must, therefore, be a high index of suspicion with the appropriate radiological investigations for appropriate management of such cases.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2002

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