Orbital tumour or a retained foreign body? An uncommon case of missed diagnosis

Trop Doct. 2021 Jul;51(3):446-448. doi: 10.1177/0049475520981258. Epub 2021 Jan 21.

Abstract

We report a case who presented with decreased vision, significant hypotropia, proptosis and gross limitation of extraocular motility for one year. Suspecting an orbital tumour, we asked for a computed tomography of the orbit which revealed a mass lesion in the inferior orbit. However, incisional biopsy reported inflammatory infiltration. Diagnosing it as orbital inflammatory disease, a course of oral steroids was given for four weeks. It was only after the reduction in inflammation that a foreign body was palpable in the inferior fornix. Surgical exploration revealed a large wooden foreign body measuring 3.3 × 1 × 0.3 cm. Though intraorbital foreign bodies are not rare, ambiguous history, delayed presentation and nonspecific CT findings made this case diagnostically challenging.

Keywords: Wooden; foreign body; granuloma; intraorbital.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Eye Foreign Bodies* / diagnostic imaging
  • Eye Foreign Bodies* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Missed Diagnosis
  • Orbit / diagnostic imaging
  • Orbital Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Orbital Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Wood