Turkish Neurosurgery 1999 , Vol 9 , Num 3-4
TRANSORBITAL STAB WOUND FROM A SPEARGUN: A CASE REPORT
Yusuf ERŞAHİN, Mehdi SADAT, Taşkın YURTSEVEN, Saffet MUTLUER
Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, İzmir, Turkey Penetrating stab wounds of the skull rarely occur in civilians. In the absence of direct injury to the brainstem or laceration of a major intracranial vessel, the prognosis for these injuries is good. Transorbital stab wounds causing intracranial complications are more common in children than in adults, and are reported more often in boys than girls. A 9-year-old girl presented with a spear penetrating her left orbita. A cranial computed tomographic scan confirmed that the tip of the spearhead had passed through the left orbital roof and was penetrating the left temporal lobe. The barbed spearhead was removed via craniotomy after cutting off three of the spear's prongs. The child recovered completely after surgery and was neurologically intact 1 year following the injury. Postoperative magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) was also normal. Barbed objects should not be removed by retracing their route of entry. MRA can be used to screen for important potential vascular complications. Keywords : Transorbital injury, speargun, magnetic resonance angiography, stab wound
Corresponding author : Yusuf Erşahin