Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Spring;1(1):14-8.
doi: 10.5812/atr.5308. Epub 2012 Jun 1.

Penetrating neck trauma: review of 192 cases

Mohsen Mahmoodie  1 , Behnam Sanei  1 , Mohammad Moazeni-Bistgani  2 , Mohammad Namgar  3
Affiliations
Review

Penetrating neck trauma: review of 192 cases

Mohsen Mahmoodie et al. Arch Trauma Res. 2012 Spring.

Abstract

Background: The neck region contains a high density of vital organ structures within a relatively small and unprotected anatomic region, making it one of the most vulnerable areas of the body for all types of injuries.

Objectives: In this article, we studied penetrating neck trauma cases in Alzahra Hospital over a 10-year period.

Patients and methods: In this retrospective, descriptive, analytical study, penetrating neck trauma cases admitted to Alzahra Hospital between April 2000 and April 2010 were analyzed for epidemiology, mechanism of trauma, zone of trauma, therapeutic method, injuries to other organs, complications, and mortality.

Results: Among 192 penetrating neck injuries, the mean age at the time of injury was 25.08 ± 15.02 years. Of these cases, 96.4% occurred in men. The most common mechanisms of trauma was stab wounds (85.93%). In 56.3% of penetrating neck injuries, zone 2 was involved. Neck exploration was positive in 84.4% of cases, and 52.1% of patients underwent surgery. Vascular exploration was the most common cause of surgery (67.2% of patients). The most common surgical intervention was vein ligation (50.8% of cases). In 11.98% of cases, another organ injury occurred simultaneously, and chest injury was the most common coexisting problem (65.2%). Complications were reported in 9.3% of patients, and the need for intubation was the most common complication (5.2% of patients). Mortality rate was 1.5%.

Conclusions: According to the findings of this study, the most common cause of penetrating neck injuries was stab wounds, and the majority of patients were young men, therefore, preventive measures should be implemented. Because of fatal complications associated with neck injuries, we recommend early neck exploration in unstable cases or when injuries are deeper than the platysma.

Keywords: Complications; Mortality; Neck; Penetrating Head Injury; Wound and Injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Algorithm for the evaluation and management of cervical wounds.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fischer JE, Bland KI, Callery MP. Mastery of surgery. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
    1. Souba WW, Fink MP, Jurkovich GJ, Kaiser LR, Pearce WH, Pemberton JH, et al. Injuries to the Neck. ACS Surgery: Principles & Practice. 6th ed. WebMD Professional Pub; 2007.
    1. Nason RW, Assuras GN, Gray PR, Lipschitz J, Burns CM. Penetrating neck injuries: analysis of experience from a Canadian trauma centre. Can J Surg. 2001;44(2):122–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thal ER, Meyer DM. Penetrating neck trauma. Curr Probl Surg. 1992;29(1):1–56. - PubMed
    1. McConnell DB, Trunkey DD. Management of penetrating trauma to the neck. Adv Surg. 1994;27:97–127. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources