Turkish Neurosurgery 2009 , Vol 19 , Num 4
Vertebral Artery Insult at the Transverse Foramina by Gun Shot Wounds: Report of Two Cases
Ali DALGIC1, Onder OKAY2, Osman NACAR3, Ergun DAGLIOGLU4, Lale PASAOGLU5, Deniz BELEN6
1,2,3,4,6Ankara Numune Educational and Training Hospital, II. Neurosurgery Clinic, Ankara, Turkey
5Ankara Numune Educational and Training Hospital, Radiology Clinic, Ankara, Turkey
The vertebral artery (VA) is well protected through its course at the cervical transverse foramina and penetrating injuries of VAare mostly caused by gun shot wounds. The mechanism of injury in these wounds is described as the kinetic energy transferred by the bullet, which always depends on its mass and speed. Thus, the size of the pellet is the most important factor for the tissue damage, shock waves and direct injury. Civilian gun shot wounds are generally caused by low velocity firearms, In this report, we described two cases with cervical gunshot wound characterized with transverse foramina damage and VA insult. The first patient was assaulted by bullet that resulted in vertebral artery occlusion, whereas a smaller pellet was found in the second one and arterial flow was not influenced on the site of the damaged transverse foramina. Successful management of these injuries should include careful analysis of the bullet characteristics that is directly related to the intensity of damage. Keywords : Cervical spine, Gun shot, Transverse foramina, Vertebral artery
Corresponding author : Ali Dalgıc, alidalgic@yahoo.com