Foreign Body Removal Specialist

Ortho 1 Medical Group

Orthopedic Specialists located in La Jolla, CA & San Diego, CA

Some foreign objects easily enter your body, while others require force, causing trauma and more damage. In both cases, you need foreign body removal performed by the orthopedic surgeons at Ortho 1 Medical Group. You can usually remove a splinter under your skin. But it’s best to let medical experts remove other foreign objects to prevent excessive tissue damage and prevent infections. Call the office in San Diego, La Jolla, or Coronado, California, today or use the online booking feature to schedule an appointment.

Foreign Body Removal Q&A

What is a foreign body?

A foreign body refers to any item or substance that’s not a normal part of your anatomy, yet it ends up inside your body. Some foreign bodies easily puncture your skin, but many items can end up being a foreign body during forceful trauma.

What objects require foreign body removal?

Examples of the most common foreign bodies include:

Splinters
Toothpicks
Needles
Pieces of glass
Metal pipes
Plastic
Sticks
Pencils
Gravel
Stones
Thorns

If you have a significant wound at the site where the object entered your body, other foreign substances, like dirt, hair, and fibers, can collect in the open wound.

How do I get foreign bodies?

You can breathe in or accidentally swallow a foreign body. When walking around barefoot, you can step on a sharp object. But you could also fall onto a foreign body.

Orthopedic specialists often remove foreign objects embedded deeper than the surface layers of your skin. In severe cases, the object penetrates muscles and bones. The force of a traumatic injury can push a dull or thick object deep into your body.

What happens during foreign object removal?

The first step is that your Ortho 1 Medical Group provider carefully examines the wound where the item entered your body. They might be able to feel the foreign object under the surface. But they still order an ultrasound, X-rays, or other diagnostic imaging.

Imaging allows your provider to find objects they can’t see or feel. They also need to identify the object and find its precise location to determine the best way to remove it. Advanced planning prevents further damage if the object is near a nerve, blood vessel, or another sensitive organ.

Before removing the object, your provider cleans the wound. They choose the best of several possible techniques for removing the object. They may need to make a larger incision to reach the object and then use instruments like forceps (a larger, tweezer-like instrument) to pull it out or a scalpel to cut it out.

Call Ortho 1 Medical Group today or book an appointment online if you need foreign body removal.

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