Retained foreign body: A fingernail fragment

A 19-year-old female presented four and onehalf months after an occupational injury from a punch-type machine. Exploration revealed a large fragment of her fingernail embedded in the fingerpad. Foreign bodies are commonly encountered in the practice of emergency medicine and failure to localize and remove them can result in significant morbidity. We present a case of a fingernail as a foreign body. Foreign bodies may be difficult to detect despite sophisticated imaging techniques. Although not visualized often, a radiolucent foreign body may be inferred from boney changes. A thorough history regarding mechanism of injury and resultant wound exploration are required. When an adequate wound examination using digital tourniquet control and proper precautions is performed, the majority of foreign bodies will be detected.