Bull Gore injury- Its impact and surgical management

Abstract

Bull gore injuries are among the commonest accidents in rural india, where people make their living rearing the livestock. The injuries thus sustained include the direct penetrating injuries caused by horns of the animal and blunt injuries sustained like chest & spine injuries, long bone fractures. A thorough head to toe examination is therefore essential in evaluating such patients. The commonest site of injury in bullgore cases is the abdomen and perineal region. The reason for perineal involvement is its anatomical configuration. Injuries involving the perineal region pose a great challenge in management due to poorly understood anatomy and difficulty in accessing the injury site. Perineal injuries are associated with delayed complications like anovaginal fistula, urethrorectal fistula, loss of sphincter function due to injury to the anal canal. This paper describes the spectrum of five bull gore injury cases involving lower abdomen and perineum that presented to our emergency department and how they were managed efficiently in our hospital.