Penetrating Trauma to the Head and Neck from a Nail Gun: A Unique Mechanism of Injury

Abstract

Published reports of nail gun injuries to the head and neck are rare. We describe the cases of three patients who sustained nail gun injuries to the head and who were managed at our institution. All patients were treated successfully and all recovered with minimal morbidity. Any physician who is called on to manage a nail gun injury to the head or neck should understand that most likely the patient will have sustained a surprisingly limited amount of tissue injury, owing to the relatively low velocity of the projectile compared with that delivered by firearms. Computed tomography and selective angiography can play a vital role in assessing the integrity of relevant vascular structures. Moreover, catheter angiography with embolization can be a most useful nonsurgical adjunct to control the extent of vascular injury.