Ultrasound in the emergency department: detection of wooden foreign bodies in the soft tissues.

Detection of a soft tissue foreign body is often very difficult, even when strongly suggested by history and physical examination. Plain radiography is helpful only in cases where the foreign body is radiopaque. Wood, which is usually radiolucent, can go undetected if further imaging is not considered. Undetected wooden foreign bodies can cause significant morbidity, repeat visits, high cost, and extensive surgery. Reported here are four cases in which ultrasound was used in the Emergency Department to detect and remove wooden foreign bodies from the soft tissues. These reports suggest that ultrasound is a clinically useful tool for the detection and removal of wooden foreign bodies by emergency physicians.