Management of an Unusual Orbitocranial Penetrating Injury

BACKGROUND: An intraorbital injury with a blunt penetrating intraorbital foreign body (IOFB) is an unusual cause of penetrating trauma. This type of trauma is considered a surgical emergency given the risk to vision in addition to potential intracranial injuries such as vascular injury, dural laceration, and neurologic injury. A thorough history and physical exam, along with careful radiographic and multidiscipline intervention, is crucial in providing the patient the most appropriate care. Case Presentation. A 66-year-old male presented to the emergency room (ER) after falling down the stairs and suffering an orbitocranial penetrating injury. He underwent urgent fluoroscopy-guided foreign body removal with a multidisciplinary team after a workup revealed no significant ocular or intracranial injuries. The foreign body was removed with an anterior approach without any complications. CONCLUSION: In this study, we demonstrated that IOFB in proximity to orbitocranial structures requires a careful multidisciplinary team approach. An interventional radiology- (IR-) guided approach in extracting the foreign body is essential to prevent further injury. A high dose of intravenous steroid was not used due to initial suspicion of intracranial involvement. Prompt removal decreased risk of further vision loss.