An unusual suicide attempt using a circular saw

Abstract

The case of a suicide attempt of a depressed male using a circular saw is reported and discussed. There was a hesitation injury that is seldom described in this type of power tool suicide. A deviation in the position of the superior sagittal sinus allowed the life of the victim to be saved by a neurosurgical operation.

Suicide by a circular saw

“…However, either suicide or attempted suicide by a circular saw has only been described in four cases, as shown in Table 1 in the English medical literature [5][6][7]. In these cases, the details of the wound and the case history were not precisely presented.…”

“…Rainov and Burkert [6] reported the suicidal attempt of a 55-year-old male who sustained self-inflicted head injuries from a circular saw but his life was saved by immediate surgery. They stated that the production of very deep injuries with a circular saw is impossible, unlike a band or chain saw.…”

“…Although an individual committing suicide with a power saw, such as a chain saw [1][2][3], band saw [4,5], and circular saw [5][6][7] is rare, in the forensic literature cases of suicide by a chain saw have been reported and the autopsy findings described in detail [1][2][3]. However, either suicide or attempted suicide by a circular saw has only been described in four cases, as shown in Table 1 in the English medical literature [5][6][7].…”

“…A person committing suicide with an electric saw is rare, and only a few such cases have been reported in the literature [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Generally, suicidal self-infliction by such power tools is associated with psychiatric disease and alcohol/drug abuse, and most of the decedents are male.…”

Unusual suicides with band saws: Two case reports and a literature review

“…With fewer than 15 previously reported cases [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8], the use of a band saw in particular has been extremely rare in cases of suicide [1,3,4].…”