Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) first became available in the United States in 2007, and since that time, the number of e-cigarette users in the US has grown to over 2.5 million. During the period from 2010–2013 alone, the percentage of Americans who reported that they had ever used electronic cigarettes more than doubled from 3.3% to 8.5%. This number will continue to grow, as the use of electronic cigarettes as an alternative to smoking and in smoking cessation is being explored by the public and medical professionals alike. This article presents a case report involving a patient who was injured when the electronic cigarette he was smoking exploded in his face, causing a ballistic injury to his maxilla, as well as a series of other associated injuries. There have been several recent reports in the literature of exploding electronic cigarettes. This article presents a case of avulsive injury due to ballistic trauma with associated impaction of the vaporizing device. Highlights ? Electronic cigarette use is increasingly widespread in the United States. ? Lithium batteries are prone to explosion. The implications for orofacial injury are obvious due to their nature and usage. ? This is the first ballistic injury from an electronic cigarette in which the device was embedded into the patient, necessitating surgical removal. ? The patient was reconstructed with bone from his iliac crest.
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