Missile injuries to the temporal bone.
Gunshot injuries to the head and neck are frequently seen in patients brought to a level I trauma center. These injuries result in great morbidity and mortality and a significant expenditure of health care dollars. Missile injuries to the temporal bone, though less common, can likewise be devastating. Common sequelae include vertigo, deafness, facial nerve paralysis, and death. A series of missile injuries to the temporal bone treated at Tampa General Hospital during 1993 prompted a review of head and neck missile injuries in our trauma registry over the past 4 years (1989 to 1993). More than 100 patients were shot in the head or neck; 25 of them had injury to the temporal bone. Outcomes included facial nerve injury (8), deafness (9), vertigo (3), and death (13).
Stack
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BC
Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa.
Farrior
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JB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019838:Neck Injuries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology