ABSTRACT

Spinal cord injuries after stabbing are rare, and incomplete neurological motor deficits occur in most cases due to a partial incision. In this case report, we describe a 32-year-old man who presented in our emergency department with a stabbing in the mid-thoracic region that crossed the spinal cord and spine. The knife entered approximately 13 cm from the D7 vertebral level to the parallel vertical axis, perforated the spinal cord, and stopped along the anterior posterior axis of the corpus AP. The knife approached the mediastinal aorta within a few millimeters, but did not cause any vascular injury. There was no motor deficit due to the knife passing parallel to the vertical axis of the spinal cord from the midline. After T7 laminectomy, the knife was removed and posterior dura repair was performed. After surgery the patient left hospital with mild dysesthesia, and no motor deficit was present. In most of these injuries, different degrees of motor deficit develop. If the input angle and the direction of the knife are parallel to the vertical axis, minimal motor deficit occurs. This case is encouraging for cases of midline myelotomy.