Impalement head injury with serrated meat knife

J West Afr Coll Surg. 2012 Jan;2(1):67-74.

Abstract

An unsuspecting motorcycle passenger was ambushed and impaled on the right side of the head with a 30cm serrated meat carving knife during a sectarian crisis in the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. The patient escaped running with the knife in his head and was rescued to a military hospital from where he was promptly transferred within 90 minutes of the incident to the Emergency Department of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Jos. Prompt resuscitation and CT brain imaging facilitated a successful neurosurgical intervention and a good outcome in the management of this patient.

Keywords: Impalement head injury; Jos civil crisis; Serrated meat knife.