Neuroimaging of a wooden foreign body retained for 5 months in the temporalis muscle following penetrating trauma with a chopstick--case report

Abstract

A 48-year-old female was stabbed by her husband with a chopstick made of wood in the left temporal region during a quarrel. She suffered laceration of the left temporal scalp. At initial examination, she concealed the assault with a chopstick. Radiography showed no abnormality, so the wound was sutured. One month after the injury, a painless subcutaneous mass appeared in the left temporal region which grew rapidly for 3 months. She was then admitted to our department. Computed tomography (CT) on admission showed a hyperdense area at the center of the mass. This area was hypointense on both T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images. Temporalis muscle tumor with accompanying central necrosis, old hematoma, and inflammatory granuloma was considered. The mass was totally resected for cosmetic purposes and was found to be wooden foreign body granuloma. High density on CT and hypointensity on both T1- and T2-weighted MR images are characteristic of a chronically retained wooden foreign body in the living body and are useful for detecting wooden foreign bodies in the chronic granulomatous phase.