Transcranial stab injury with knife: A rare case with excellent outcome

Abstract

Traumatic stab injury/wounds to the brain are rare type of injuries having fatal outcomes. In the present case report, we report a case of a 17-year-old male who presented to the accident and emergency department of our hospital with an alleged history of assault due to a vegetable cutting knife with the knife lying in the right temporal region. In these types of injuries, no attempt should be made to remove the weapon without adequate investigations and facilities as it can be fatal. While removing the weapon, care should be taken that there is no rocking or zigzag movement and the weapon should be retrieved back from the same trajectory. The underlying principles in these types of cases include thorough debridement of the wound with removal of dead tissue with no rocking movement while retrieving the weapon. The wound should be thoroughly closed to prevent postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak.