11-year-girl presented to the emergency of a regional healthcare centre with the sharpened end of a pencil lodged in her neck.
An 11-year-old was referred to ‘The Hospital for Sick Children’ in Toronto, Ontario from a regional healthcare centre with a penetrating neck injury. The girl fell during recess and the sharpened end of the pencil lodged into the left side of her neck. The girl was then immediately transported to the nearest health care facility by an ambulance.
Treatment
The patient was shifted to the operating room and the left side of the neck was explored. The pencil was lodged in her left common carotid artery (CAA) and caused total occlusion. The patient was administered cephalosporin preoperatively. The common carotid, internal carotid and external carotid artery were controlled using vessel loops and the pencil was exposed. Additionally, she was administered a weight-based therapeutic dose of heparin. The pencil was removed after clamping the arteries.
The postoperative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged on the second day of admission. She was prescribed acetylsalicylic acid for 3 months after surgery. The wound was irrigated with copious saline and closed in layers using vicryl and nylon sutures.
References
Penetrating paediatric neck trauma https://casereports.bmj.com/content/12/5/e226436
