Citation

Kuwabara M, Ninomiya H, Yokobori Y, Chikamatsu K. Practica Otologica 2016; 109(4): 281-286.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016)

DOI

10.5631/jibirin.109.281

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although traumatic injuries caused by crossbows are rare in Japan, some of these may be lifethreatening. We describe herein a-22-year-old man who attempted to commit suicide with a crossbow. The patient shot himself in the neck with a crossbow and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Computed tomography (CT) scans revealed a crossbow bolt entering anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, involving the carotid space, and passing through the posterior region of the neck. The crossbow bolt had been shot into the neck, penetrated the internal jugular vein and worked as a tamponade so that further bleeding was prevented. We successfully removed the crossbow bolt using the purse-string suture technique and reconstructed the internal jugular vein. The postoperative course was uneventful other than a temporary vocal cord paralysis. In cases of neck injuries, careful evaluations of the vascular structures are indispensable to prevent unexpected bleeding.

Language: ja

Keywords

Suicide; Crossbow injury; Internal jugular vein injury