title: Penetrating thoracic spinal cord injury with ice pick extending into the aorta. A technical note and review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Penetrating spinal cord injuries pose a great challenge to both patients and the treating physicians. Although the overall incidence of penetrating spinal cord injury is the highest in the military, the ubiquity of guns in our society continues to make penetrating spinal cord injury prevalent in the civilian population. These types of injuries are particularly complicated because, beyond the trauma to the neural elements and supporting structures, other organs can be affected and a team approach is required for successful treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this report, the authors present a unique case of an ice pick penetrating posteriorly through the spinal canal into the aorta. The described surgical management involved careful consideration and planning to prevent worsening vascular and neurological compromise. Among the challenges faced are neurological compromise, vascular injury, spinal instability, and cerebrospinal fluid leak.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the author's knowledge, this challenging case represents the first description of a successful removal of a penetrating thoracic spinal foreign body that terminated within the lumen of the thoracic aorta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Rani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nasser
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nakhla
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Saadat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Merritt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kinon
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Surgery, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yassari
keywords: Aorta; penetrating trauma; thoracic spine; vascular injury