[Penetrating head injury caused by weed--case report]

A case of penetrating head injury caused by weed was reported. A 69-year-old man fell from a bicycle and was stuck by the hard stalk of weed through the right nasal cavity. On admission the patient was fully alert and with no neurological deficits. The weed was pulled out at an out-patient department and then he became semicomatose and hemiplegic on the left side together with an occurrence of nasal bleeding. Subsequent computed tomographic (CT) scan showed an intracerebral hematoma in the right frontal lobe. The hematoma was immediately evacuated and the dural defect, lateral to the cribriform plate, was closed. It is stressed that neuroradiological evaluation with CT scan and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is mandatory because an information about an anatomical location of penetrating objects and intracranial complications are essential to a decision-making of surgical strategy. The objects should be urgently removed in a surgical exposure of the intracranial lesion and the contused brain should be debrided with a repair of the lacerated dura mater.