Intracerebellar penetrating injury and abscess due to a wooden foreign body--case report

Abstract

A 4-year-old boy presented with chopstick penetration into the cerebellum via the temporal squamosa and tentorium cerebelli, which resulted in a cerebellar abscess 1.5 years after the injury. The neuroimaging appearance of the wooden chopstick were unusual, hyperdense on computed tomography, and isointense on T2-weighted and hypointense on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Abscess aspiration and continuous drainage was performed with real-time intraoperative ultrasound guidance. The chopstick fragment was surgically removed and the patient discharged with minor neurological deficits. Wooden foreign body may show changes in properties after a long period of intraparenchymal retention. Extra care is required to remove wooden foreign bodies because of the high risk of infection.