Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jun 16, 2024; 12(17): 3214-3220
Published online Jun 16, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i17.3214
Steel bar penetrating cervical spinal canal without neurological injury: A case report
Qin Zhang, Tao Ding, Xiao-Feng Gu, Yi Liu
Qin Zhang, Tao Ding, Xiao-Feng Gu, Yi Liu, Department of Orthopedics, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi 214023, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang Q and Ding T performed the surgery, formal analysis and original draft preparation; Gu XF was responsible for data curation; Liu Y was responsible for review and editing; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Zhang has nothing to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qin Zhang, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Orthopedics, The Affiliated Wuxi People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 299 Qing Yang Road, Wuxi 214023, Jiangsu Province, China. zhangqin993@163.com
Received: February 20, 2024
Revised: April 25, 2024
Accepted: May 16, 2024
Published online: June 16, 2024
Processing time: 105 Days and 13.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

We report a rare case of cervical spinal canal penetrating trauma and review the relevant literatures.

CASE SUMMARY

A 58-year-old male patient was admitted to the emergency department with a steel bar penetrating the neck, without signs of neurological deficit. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated that the steel bar had penetrated the cervical spinal canal at the C6–7 level, causing C6 and C7 vertebral body fracture, C6 left lamina fracture, left facet joint fracture, and penetration of the cervical spinal cord. The steel bar was successfully removed through an open surgical procedure by a multidisciplinary team. During the surgery, we found that the cervical vertebra, cervical spinal canal and cervical spinal cord were all severely injured. Postoperative CT demonstrated severe penetration of the cervical spinal canal but the patient returned to a fully functional level without any neurological deficits.

CONCLUSION

Even with a serious cervical spinal canal penetrating trauma, the patient could resume normal work and life after appropriate treatment.

Keywords: Cervical spinal canal; Penetrating trauma; Steel bar; Neurological deficit; Case report

Core Tip: Cervical spinal canal penetrating trauma is rare. We present a rarer case of a serious cervical spinal canal penetrating trauma caused by a steel bar in a building site. Computed tomography demonstrated that the steel bar penetrated the cervical spinal canal at the C6-7 level, without obvious signs of vascular structure involvement. The steel bar was successfully removed through an open surgical procedure by a multidisciplinary team. The patient returned to a fully functional level without any neurological deficits. No similar report has been found previously. This case even challenges the cognition about the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology today.