Computerized tomographic demonstration of intraorbital bone fragments caused by penetrating trauma

Three patients with fragments of bones lodged in the orbit from apparently non-penetrating trauma, associated with cranio-cerebral injury, are reported. In all three cases the initial symptoms and signs of intraorbital or retrobulbar injury were minimal. The bone fragments were not demonstrable on plain x-ray films of the skull but were clearly shown on computerized tomographic (CT) scans of the orbit. They could easily have been overlooked had reliance been placed on plain x-ray films alone. In patients with suspected non-penetrating orbital trauma, axial and coronal CT views of the orbit are recommended.