Sui generis head trauma: a case with intracerebral phalanges

In times of conflict, physicians can encounter all types of trauma, even uncommon trauma. The case we present is one of those cases. A 30-year-old, male, Army sergeant suffered polytrauma caused by fragmentation missiles and the shock wave from an antipersonnel mine in combat; the amputated fingers of the right hand produced ocular trauma, with loss of the right eyeball. The patient also suffered facial injuries and mild head trauma. Computed tomographic scans demonstrated intracerebral osseous objects. The patient underwent cranial wound debridement and dural repair, and several osseous objects, which corresponded to the victim's phalanges, were found in the cerebral parenchyma. In shock wave accidents, body parts from the victim can serve as missiles and can cause the same or greater damage, compared with conventional missiles. This is the first case of this kind of trauma published in the worldwide literature.