[Frontal Base Penetrating Brain Injury by a Gardening Scissors:A Case Report]

A 43-year-old woman accidentally fell from a 1.5-m height with gardening scissors, and the cutting edge of the scissors pierced into her skull base through the left nasal cavity. After she pulled the scissors out by herself, her consciousness immediately deteriorated. She was transferred to Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital by an ambulance helicopter. Intracerebral hematoma in the right frontal lobe caused by the middle cerebral artery injury was detected using brain computed tomography. Emergent hematoma evacuation with decompressive craniectomy was performed. In this procedure, cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)leakage was repaired using a multi-layered flap technique, which placed both the free autologous dura mater and pedicled temporalis muscle flaps into the damaged skull base space. After the surgery, CSF drainage was managed to control both intracranial pressure and CSF leakage. Upon discussion, several clinical issues can be highlighted. First, the gardening scissors were pulled out by the patient herself. Second, the foreign material penetrating the intracranial space might have conferred a high infection risk. Finally, it might be difficult to repair the severe damage inflicted upon the skull base by the large gardening scissors. In conclusion, it was considered that favorable results were obtained by the emergent surgical intervention and by repairing the skull base through forming a multi-layered flap with a combination of free and pedicled tissues.