Spinal trauma due to missile/gunshot injuries has been well reported in the literature
and has remained the domain of military warfare more often. The chief neurosurgical
concern in these types of firearm injuries is the degree of damage sustained during
the bullet traversing through the neural tissue and the after effects of the same
in long term. Sometimes, though their management can be tricky and may pose certain
management dilemmas. We report an interesting case of a penetrating bullet injury
to cervical spine at C2 vertebral level presenting as Brown Sequard syndrome. Not
only the site was unusual, this patient also posed few treatment related issues. The
clinical presentation, imaging and the management of the patient are discussed along
with relevant literature regarding gunshot injuries to spine.
Keywords
missile injury - penetrating cervical injury
