Orbitocranial wooden foreign body diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging. Dry wood can be isodense with air and orbital fat by computed tomography

In computed tomographic (CT) scans, a wooden foreign body can appear as a lucency with nearly the same density as air or fat, and it can be indistinguishable from orbital adipose tissue. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can localize these wooden foreign bodies in the orbit. We studied a case in which a wooden golf tee lodged in the right optic canal of a nine-year-old boy. The head portion lodged in the orbital apex and the tip entered the interpeduncular fossa. Clinical examination revealed a right paranasal laceration; the right eye had no light perception and a peripapillary hemorrhage, but was otherwise normal. Surgical exploration and evaluation by CT failed to locate the foreign body. However, the golf tee was demonstrated by MRI as a low intensity image. Although it was removed by craniotomy with good neurological results, bacterial panophthalmitis led to enucleation of the eye. This case emphasizes the diagnostic value of MRI and the hazards of retained wooden foreign bodies.