One year old misdiagnosed penetrating injury of sacrum with a retained knife: a case report and review of literature

Abstract

Penetrating injuries to the spine, although less common than blunt trauma from motor vehicle accidents, are important causes of injury to the spinal cord. They are essentially of two varieties-gunshot or stab wounds. Gunshot injuries to the spine are more commonly described and are associated with a higher incidence of neurological damage. On the contrary, the prognosis is better in stab wounds where surgery plays a greater role. Here we report a case of a 31 year old male with a history of penetrating injury with knife in lower back 1 year ago comes with complaints of pain and pus discharge since 2 weeks. On detailed history taking, clinical examination and investigations it was found that knife was left in situ which was causing symptoms. Surgical exploration was done. Foreign body (knife) was removed keeping all the neurovascular complications in check. Post operatively patient is doing good with no neurological deficits. A timely intervention in removing foreign body is necessary for preventing for complications.