Tenosynovitis due to incense

A 16-year-old girl accidentally incurred a puncture wound on an incense cone. The incense, like other ligneous materials, irritated the soft tissue and predisposed the radial bursa of the forearm to infection. The infectious organisms produced gas that was visible on roentogenographic examination. This caused concern until to Clostridia could be found in the wound. The bursal opening, secondary closure, and antibiotics produced a satisfactory result.