CASE REPORT   

Chirurgia 2002 June;15(3):125-68

Copyright © 2002 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Craniocerebral gunshot wound. Report of an attempted murder

Murabito M., Seitz H.

An interesting and unusual case of gunshot wound to the head with severe brain injury that survived the bullet wound, as well as the delicate operation and a not wished cerebrospinal fluid leak complication are reported. Certainly an early and aggressive surgical and perioperative management seem to improve the outcome of such patients, even if many factors should be evaluated before surgery. Our patient showed only minor neurological deficits on discharge thus confirming that the outcome, according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale, strongly correlated with the conditions upon admission, as determined by the Glasgow Coma Scale. Intracranial gunshot wounds can result in a wide variety of immediate severe, life threatening injuries. These patients need to be rapidly and thoroughly evaluated in a rational and systematic manner to minimize mortality and long-term morbidity.