Vertical stab wound to the lumbo-sacral spinal canal: report of a case

A 63-year-old man was stabbed by an iron bar in the perineum. On admission, the external aspect of this wound appeared to be only a tiny hole. However, the bar had penetrated the rectum, sacrum, and lumbar spinal canal up to the third lumbar vertebral body. This patient was eventually treated with sacral wound drainage, a closure of the rectal wound, and pelvic drainage. Lumbar surgery was not performed because computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not show a progression of inflammatory changes in either the lumbar canal or perispinal hollow caused by the iron bar during the hospital stay. The clinical, CT, and MRI findings thus provided important information in the diagnosis and treatment of stab wounds.