Case Reports
Small-Caliber Gunshot Wound With Fragment Lodged in Thoracic Foramen in a Patient With Partial Brown-Sequard Syndrome
Am J Orthop. 2008 March;37(3):E55-E58
Author and Disclosure Information
Douglas G. Orndorff, MD, and Francis H. Shen, MD
Dr. Orndorff is Chief Resident, and Dr. Shen is Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
Abstract not available. Introduction provided instead.
Unfortunately, our society is marked by continued violence, including a high rate of gunshot injuries. Gunshot wounds to the spine account for 13% to 17% of all gunshot wounds.1 Gunshot injuries to the spine occur mostly in the thoracic spine but inflict the most devastation and functional impairment when they involve the cervical spine.2,3 Spinal cord gunshot wounds most often occur in minorities between ages 15 and 34. Spinal cord damage after gunshot wounds is more likely than blunt trauma to result in complete injury.3-5