Penetrating craniocerebral injuries from nail-gun use

Senthil Selvanathan, Tony Goldschlager, J McMillen, Scott Campbell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleOther

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Three patients with penetrating craniocerebral nail-gun injuries are described. In the first patient the nail was impinging on the internal carotid artery (ICA) in the carotid canal. On removal of the nail, the patient developed a false aneurysm at the site. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of nail-gun injury affecting the ICA and also the first case of penetrating head injury affecting the ICA in the carotid canal. The second patient had seven intracranial nails in the frontal area. Three nails penetrated the left orbit, one of which perforated the globe. One nail damaged the optic nerve resulting in optic neuropathy. In the third patient the nail extended through the squamous temporal bone into the temporal lobe. All three were managed successfully via closed gentle traction without craniotomy and/or endovascular intervention. The literature is reviewed and management options for penetrating head injuries are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)678 - 683
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Clinical Neuroscience
Volume14
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007
Externally publishedYes

Cite this