Search

The majority of retained intraocular foreign bodies are ferrous in nature, and their magnetic properties ensure their ready removal from the eye. In a small proportion of cases the retained foreign body does not exhibit magnetic properties. These patients present a problem in management to the ophthalmologist, as it is a heavy responsibility to undertake the removal of a nonmagnetic foreign body from the posterior segment of the eye. In certain circumstances the decision is made to defer operative removal for a time. A case is presented where such a decision led to an unexpected denouement. Report of Case A 7-year-old boy was brought to the hospital on Empire Night with a severe injury to the left eye. He said he was holding a firecracker in his hand when it exploded, and something struck his left eye. There was no reliable observer at the accident. Remarks made by the boy

An interesting case of a large retained foreign body in the lip which remained asymptomatic has been presented.

THE CHARACTERISTIC feature of heterotopic bone formation within abdominal scars is the appearance of an ossified mass along a longitudinal incision in an adult male within one year following surgery; usually an upper-abdominal incision which is contiguous to a bony structure is involved. 1-3 Roentgenographic examination of the area will readily confirm the diagnosis. However, because of its uncommon occurrence and location, the condition may not be suspected on initial encounter or may be mistaken for such lesions as incisional implants of carcinoma or, as in our first case, a retained foreign body. Recently we encountered our first two cases of this condition in brothers. In none of the 19 previously reported cases of which we are aware has any familial relationship been recorded. This unique circumstance and the opportunity to reemphasize the possible development of this condition within abdominal surgical scars has prompted us to report these two cases.

A patient is described in whom the postpericardiotomy syndrome developed secondary to a gunshot wound to the chest with the retained missile in close proximity to the pericardium. Steroid therapy produced a prompt and sustained clinical remission. The literature is reviewed, and it is suggested that retained foreign bodies in or near the pericardium are still another precipitating cause of the postpericardiotomy syndrome. Possible etiologic mechanisms, the role of corticosteroids in therapy, and indications for surgery are discussed.

n/a

The patient, Mrs. M., aged 45, was referred to us by Dr. E. S. Grigsby, of Lodi, California, with the following history. About November 19, 1930, the patient and some friends were fishing. She had caught a six-pound striped bass, and later landed one weighing eight pounds, which her husband was removing from the hook. As she started up the bank, which was moist, she slipped and fell, striking the inner condyle of her knee on the corner of a box. The knee became quite stiff and she had to have help to get into her car. Three days later she consulted a physician. At this time a small scab was removed and about one ounce of pus evacuated. With this history, the physician thought that the wound would heal very quickly. However, it continued to drain and a drainage tube was inserted. The tube was passed downward for several inches into the soft tissues, and although he believed it to be a very deep wound for such a short infection, he continued to dress it. On January 24, 1931, Dr. Grigsby obtained the followi...

In writing on this topic my object is to emphasize and reiterate that if prompt and proper methods are adopted many injured eyes will be saved and varying degrees of vision retained and to refute the defeatist attitude that an eye with a foreign body in its interior is potentially a lost eye. My opinions are mainly personal and based on an experience of more than forty-five years in an industrial community. "What thou seest, write in a book" (Revelation, chapter I, verse 11). There are several abstract principles to be considered first. The history of the accident is all important, for from it one learns whether one has to deal with a magnetic or a nonmagnetic retained foreign body. If the body is nonmagnetic, recovering it becomes more difficult and the prognosis is less favorable, as it entails additional trauma to a delicate and highly specialized organ already grievously

Mechanical principles and basic elements of wound healing too often are neglected, attempts being made to substitute antibiotic administration for application of fundamentals of surgery. Young physicians are prone to order antibiotics for any patient who has a residual or infected cavity or a draining sinus tract, neglecting the important aspects of proper wound care. Almost any wound will heal and most cavities or tracts will close, provided that they are kept clean and dry and provided, further, that there is no retained foreign body, neoplastic tissue, or specific granulomatous infection. In an attempt to emphasize the importance of wound care, a widely diverse group of patients has been treated by continuous catheter suction and periodic saline irrigation, entirely omitting antibiotic administration. Results have been so striking that this report seems warranted. To ensure wound healing, dead space must be obliterated, and the wound must be kept continuously free of