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Unusual gunshot wound resolved by standard apicoectomy procedure
Volume Number
Roentgeno-addities
53 3
UNUSUALGUNSHOTWOUNDRESOLVED
BYSTANDARDAPlCOECTOYYPROCEDURE
A
lo-year-old white boy, walking in the wooded countryside, felt a stinging sensation in the upper lip slightly lateral to the left ala of the nose. Clinical investigation of the wound at the hospital revealed an entry site some 0.5 cm. in diameter caused by a small projectile following an almost vertical trajectory. It had penetrated above the mucolabial fold and embedded itself in the bone between the crown of the unerupted cuspid and the partially resorbed root of the primary cuspid (Fig. 1). Attempts to remove the object through the entry site proved fruitless, and the Dental Department was asked to attempt its removal by extracting the primary cuspid and withdrawing it through the socket. This approach was also unsuccessful, so a simple labial flap was raised, as if for apicoectomy on the primary cuspid; this gave good access to the area,
0030-4220/82/030327
+ Ol$OO. IO/O @ 1982
327
The C. V. Mosby
Co.
and the object, apparently a shotgun pellet, was easily removed. Some tiny metal fragments (Fig. 2) were left in situ to avoid the risk of damage to the adjacent developing teeth. No other damage to teeth or tissues was noted, and healing was uneventful. This case illustrates the importance of good interdepartmental relationships, where routine techniques in one department may solve a problem which is frustrating the attempts of another. C. W. Herten-Greaven D.D.S.
Attending Staff Children’s Hospital, 2300 Tupper St. Quebec, Canada H3T lP3
Montreal Montreal,
Roentgeno-addities
53 3
UNUSUALGUNSHOTWOUNDRESOLVED
BYSTANDARDAPlCOECTOYYPROCEDURE
A
lo-year-old white boy, walking in the wooded countryside, felt a stinging sensation in the upper lip slightly lateral to the left ala of the nose. Clinical investigation of the wound at the hospital revealed an entry site some 0.5 cm. in diameter caused by a small projectile following an almost vertical trajectory. It had penetrated above the mucolabial fold and embedded itself in the bone between the crown of the unerupted cuspid and the partially resorbed root of the primary cuspid (Fig. 1). Attempts to remove the object through the entry site proved fruitless, and the Dental Department was asked to attempt its removal by extracting the primary cuspid and withdrawing it through the socket. This approach was also unsuccessful, so a simple labial flap was raised, as if for apicoectomy on the primary cuspid; this gave good access to the area,
0030-4220/82/030327
+ Ol$OO. IO/O @ 1982
327
The C. V. Mosby
Co.
and the object, apparently a shotgun pellet, was easily removed. Some tiny metal fragments (Fig. 2) were left in situ to avoid the risk of damage to the adjacent developing teeth. No other damage to teeth or tissues was noted, and healing was uneventful. This case illustrates the importance of good interdepartmental relationships, where routine techniques in one department may solve a problem which is frustrating the attempts of another. C. W. Herten-Greaven D.D.S.
Attending Staff Children’s Hospital, 2300 Tupper St. Quebec, Canada H3T lP3
Montreal Montreal,