Retained transorbital foreign body with intracranial extension after pipe bomb explosion

Background: Penetrating brain injuries caused by explosions are survived in extremely rare cases only. However, potential casualties of such cases may be encountered by regular physicians even outside a war zone, e.g., due to an assault or terror blast. There is very limited literature to this end; therefore, we report the successful neurosurgical management of a penetrating head injury due to a pipe bomb explosion.

Case description: A 19-year-old man was brought to the ER with a swollen, bleeding right orbit, and a severely injured left hand after having sustained an unwitnessed explosion from a self-made pipe bomb. He presented with a GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) of 15 at time of admission, work-up revealed an intracranial retained metal fragment measuring 5 × 1 × 0.2 cm lodged retro-orbitally and in the skull base. The patient underwent emergent right temporal craniotomy and temporal lobectomy and simultaneous right enucleation before the petrous bone and sphenoid wing lodged metal fragment was successfully removed.

Conclusion: This case underscores the importance of having a high suspicion for the presence of an intracranial injury and a retained foreign body in the setting of a penetrating head injury. Aggressive and timely workup as well as expeditious surgical management are crucial in these settings and can generate exceptionally good outcomes despite a major trauma.