Principles of penetrating head trauma management were established by Harvey Cushing in relation to the management of penetrating brain injuries of World War One. Cushing radically debrided the scalp and skull and aggressively irrigated wound tracks to remove foreign bodies. He would then obtain water-tight closure. Cushing significantly decreased infection rates which reportedly limited the major cause of mortality due to penetrating head injuries. Many advances have been made by contributions from World War Two, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Iran/Iraq conflicts. Early radical decompression, with conservative debridement and duraplasty applied to blast-induced penetrating injuries during Operation Iraqi Freedom, has resulted in increased survivability and neurological improvement. Each advance in the management of these injuries is based upon more effectively addressing one or more components of Matson’s tenets.This case series reviews the successful management of three patients that presented to a level I trauma center with a penetrating head injury from high-velocity projectiles. Management principles of each patient begin with a proper patient assessment, application of Matson’s tenets from the time of injury, and airway control. Surgical management is based upon adherence to Grahm’s Guidelines which emphasize criteria centered upon post-resuscitative Glasgow Coma Scale score and appropriate imaging.This case series suggests that proper patient evaluation, adherence to Matson’s tenets and to Grahm’s Guidelines, and appropriate patient selection for operative management leads to improved survival of patients with penetrating head trauma from high-velocity projectiles.

Spinal cord glioblastoma (SG) accounts for 1.5% of all spinal tumors and has a poor prognosis with survival ranging from 2 to 26 months from presentation.A 57-year-old male presented with one week of paraparesis and contrasted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of an epidural enhancing thoracic mass suspicious for an epidural abscess. Intraoperative and pathologic findings revealed SG.Spinal cord tumors can mimic epidural abscess on MRI. When planning to address extradural spinal pathologies, one should be cognizant of the potential for either isolated or concurrent intradural pathologies. When the epidural findings do not correlate with preoperative imaging, intraoperative ultrasound imaging can identify intradural pathologies without violating the dura.

Patients with penetrating head trauma with retained projectiles develop intracranial abscesses as a common complication. The most common presentation is a suddenly worsening headache. The most common pathogen identified is staphylococcus. Outcomes are related to adherence of Matson’s tenets.This case study details the presentation of a 19-year-old patient that presented to the neurological surgery clinic without neurologic deficits. Further questioning revealed complaints of intermittent diffuse headaches with bilateral upper extremity shock-like sensation for two weeks. Eight weeks prior he had undergone right craniotomy, after a gunshot wound, for debridement and watertight dural closure. The patient denied symptoms of fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or seizure. The patient presented with a noncontrast head computed tomography (CT) which revealed retained projectile fragments without clear evidence of abscess. On physical exam, the patient was without any neurological deficit. Laboratory investigation revealed normal white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and negative blood cultures. Head CT with contrast revealed a large intracerebral abscess adjacent to the thalamus. The patient was taken to the operating room for repeat craniotomy with resection of the abscess and removal of the intracranial projectile fragments.Post-operatively, the patient remained neurology intact. Intraoperative cultures were not significant for the growth of any bacteria. In eight weeks time, the patient returned to his employment and his baseline level of activity.This case underscores the importance of thorough assessment in patients with retained intracranial projectiles as well as the need to routine follow-up. The unique presentation of this patient prompted further investigation which elucidated a lesion which correlated to his symptoms although laboratory assessment was without abnormality.