Penetrating intracranial stone

Stone foreign body--radiographic and CT appearance

Mineral foreign bodies (stones) are infrequent findings in clinical and radiological practice. However, a growing number of reports indicate that they raise clinical and diagnostic concern in ophthalmology, neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, and vascular surgery. Dense finding in the soft tissue without clear history of foreign body penetration may represent diagnostic challenge mimicking calcifications or bony fragments. The aim of this work is to analyze the appearance of stone foreign bodies on radiographs and computed tomography. A collection of minerals and rocks was used for analysis. The clinical case of a stony foreign body which penetrated into the soft tissue of the leg is used to demonstrate the diagnostic challenge and management. Available literature describing imaging characteristics of stones was reviewed. The results of this work will help in diagnostic interpretation and assessment of stone foreign body composition.

Intracranial retained stone after depressed skull fracture: problems in the initial diagnosis

In this article, a 9-year-old male patient with a compound depressed skull fracture overlying the superior sagittal sinus and an intracranial stone foreign body is presented. A cerebral penetrating injury caused by a stone is rare. The computed tomography images obtained at standard window widths and window density levels may not reveal a retained stone, which has a chemical structure similar to bone and may not show any artifacts in the computed tomography scans.