Turkish Neurosurgery
2012 , Vol 22 , Num 5
Cervical Intradural Glass Fragment: A Rare Cause of Neuropathic Pain
Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey
DOI :
10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.4117-11.0
Intradural foreign bodies after penetrating injuries are seen very rarely. Limited number of cases of glass fragments in the spinal canal were
reported previously. Migration of foreign bodies and delayed onset of neurological symptoms due to foreign bodies were also reported. In
this report a 33-year-old male patient was presented, who had penetration of glass fragments through oropharyngeal mucosa in to the spinal
canal after crashing into a glass door. Glass fragment, which migrated through an unusual route, and reached cervical spinal intradural space,
caused neuropathic pain with radicular symptoms, 21 years after the initial injury. This case report emphasize that after penetrating injuries
of spine, foreign bodies may remain silent until the patient became symptomatic years after the initial injury and these foreign bodies may
migrate to extreme distant and unexpected locations in the central nervous system.
Keywords :
Intradural foreign bodies, Migration, Glass, Neuropathic pain