Spinal cord injuries due to close combat weapons

Abstract

A 17-year-old patient was aggressively attacked and stabbed in the dorsal region of his back by a knife. He was admitted to the emergency room of the Hammoud Hospital University Medical Center, Saida, Lebanon lying in the prone position. The neurological examination revealed that the stabbing object was fixed at the dorsal spine level at the T-7 level, where it was inserted inside the vertebral body. Luckily, the blade of the knife was parallel to the nervous tracts of the spinal cord; thus, he showed no neurological deficits. This case provides an overview of how neurosurgical principles can be applied to trauma patients with spine injuries due to close combat weapons.