Unlikely foreign bodies in unusual facial sites

Two cases are reported in which retained wooden foreign bodies in the facial tissues posed considerable diagnostic difficulty and were the source of persistent and distressing symptoms. In both patients the embedded foreign material defied radiological identification and in case I the time between injury and final removal of the foreign body was 9 years. The cases are described to highlight the problems in managing penetrating injuries when there is the possibility that radiolucent material is implanted in the wound.