Diagnosis and Management of a Biorbital Pencil Injury

A 9-year-old girl was wounded by a pencil which entered the right orbit and passed towards the left. The broken part remained inside. The diagnosis was delayed for 9 months since the history and the symptoms were misleading. The pencil, which could not be detected with plain X-rays, was demonstrated with computerized tomography (CT) and removed from the orbit successfully. The case is presented to emphasize the contribution of CT to the perforating injuries of the orbit with wooden particles. Importance of orbital foreign bodies in the differential diagnosis of proptosis in the pediatric age group is also discussed.