In this particular case, recovery followed with the ball left in situ, without causing the patient trouble enough to induce him to permit interference.
Plate 80.
Shrapnel—Plate 80.
HEAD.
Gunshot Fracture of the Anterior Table of the Frontal Sinus,
with Lodgment of the Missile in the Posterior Nares.
Wound of entrance, over the left internal super supra-orbital ridge, with course downward, slightly backward, and slightly to the left posterior nares.
Wound of exit, none.
The distinct outline and practically normal size of ball shows that the patient’s face was superimposed on the photographic plate, as the anterior location of the missile was suspected. The slight deformity of the ball is due to the impact with the bone. This personal case was received from the service of Prof. De Page, of the Belgian Red Cross Mission, at Josh Keshla Hospital, Constantinople, after an operation for infections of the frontal sinus, in which the anterior table was entirely removed, with free drainage into the posterior nares, before the radiograph was made or the exact location of the ball suspected. The missile is seen in the nares—very near the face—probably in the middle meatus, in the inferior turbinates, against the septum, deviated by its lodgment.
Convalescence was finally established and the frontal-sinus wound practically closed when, without any subjective symptoms, an obstruction was objectively determined in the left posterior nares, suggesting the radiograph.