[An unusual foreign body in the orbit].

INTRODUCTION

Foreign bodies in the orbit are rare. They can generate more or less serious complications depending on their nature and size. We report an exceptional case of a bulky foreign body in the orbit (the tip of a pen), which did not lead to any complication.

OBSERVATION: A 13-year-old child presented with a right orbital trauma caused by a pen. He consulted 3 months later when a small palpebral swelling appeared. The CT scan showed the presence of a foreign body on the orbital floor. Wound debridement allowed extracting the tip of a pen measuring 3.5cm without any complication. There were no postoperative complications.

DISCUSSION: The originality of this observation is two-fold; the singularity of the foreign body and its total harmlessness in spite of its large size. However, orbital trauma and a secondary orbital syndrome must lead to emergency imaging.