[Posttraumatic visual agnosia and epilepsy as a consequence of gunshot injury to the head. Case report]

Half million people in the world, each year have a gunshot injury to the head and eighty thousand of them are hospitalized. Gunshot injuries to the head have became in Poland second most frequent cause of death from head trauma, and in some countries during peace became the most frequent cause of death among patient with head injury. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a useful prognostic factor for patients with gunshot injury to the head. Injury to the eloquent regions of the brain, commotion and contusion of the brain, intracranial hematomas, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebro-vascular spasm, injuries to the major vessels, liquorrhea, infections, coagulopathies and epilepsy are the most important and influential factors in the clinical status of the patient with gunshot injury to the head. The operation is the preferred treatment to all patient, no matter of their clinical status at the moment of the admission. The report presents the history of treatment of a patient with gunshot injury to the head. During the treatment extremely infrequently occurring posttraumatic visual agnosia and posttraumatic epilepsy were observed. Twenty-two months after operation the patient is independent and professionally active.