Undetected piece of wood causing osteomyelitis of the metacarpal bone: A case report

The patients with soft tissue injuries by foreign bodies are encountered frequently by the emergency physicians. In the emergency services, the advanced radiological imaging techniques should be requested in the patients who have a history of foreign body injury, if it was not detected by plain radiographs. Though the plain radiography is very useful for detection of metal foreign bodies, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging and the computed tomography are superior for the detection of wood, glass and plastic foreign bodies. The foreign bodies that were not removed with the surgery can cause allergic, inflammatory or infectious process. Old foreign body injuries should be investigated in the patients with non-healing infection, or osteomyelitis history. The surgical exploration should not be avoided for diagnostic aim. In this case, we are presenting a pediatric patient developed metacarpal bone osteomyelitis due to foreign body which was diagnosed lately.