Hemiplegic Syndrome After Chopstick Penetration Injury in the Lateral Soft Palate of a Young Child.

Soft palate penetrating injuries have been reported among children, particularly in children falling with objects in their mouth. The authors present a case of a healthy 14-month-old child who fell onto a blunt-ended chopstick, the subsequent cerebrovascular accident, and the role of the osteopathic tenets thereafter. The child had an acute infarction to the region of his right middle cerebral artery secondary to right internal carotid artery occlusion. Physicians should consider the neurologic sequelae of lateral soft palate injuries and damage to the surrounding anatomical structures. A thorough, whole-patient approach to physical examination is critical.