Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T22:52:11.133Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Gunshot injuries to the temporal bone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2006

P. L. Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.
G. Selby
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.
R. M. Irving
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.

Abstract

The current incidence of missile injury to the temporal bone (MITB) is very low in the United Kingdom. However, the increasing frequency of firearm violence in Britain suggestsa greater risk of occurrence. This, along with the devastating potential sequelae of MITB (facial palsy, dead ear, intracranial damage, major vascular injury and cosmetic disfigurement), requires otolaryngologists to be conversant with all aspects of their management. The risk of major complications is much higher with MITB than with temporal bone injury following blunt trauma, and surgical management is, therefore, much more common. We present one such case, and review the literature outlining the pathogenesis, clinical features, and recommended management.

Type
Other
Copyright
© Royal Society of Medicine Press Limited 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)