Why the study?
Penetrating neck injuries in zone 1 carry high mortality due to surgical access challenges and proximity to vital organs, with no previous case reports identified of a foreign body between the right internal jugular vein and common carotid artery without injury to vital structures.
This case report describes a rare presentation of a penetrating neck injury in zone 1 with a metallic foreign body lodged between the internal jugular vein and common carotid artery without injuring vital structures.
Zone 1 penetrating neck injuries warrant expert surgical access; case leaves open standardized protocols for metallic foreign bodies.
Injuries deeper than the platysma are considered as penetrating neck injuries, constituting approximately 5% - 10% of all trauma. Many vital organs are at risk from a penetrating neck injury. These injuries in zone 1 have the highest mortality, because the injuries are close to the vital organs and difficult to access surgically. A 41-year-old male, a car mechanic by profession, presented to the emergency department with a penetrating neck injury on the right side. CT scan demonstrated a metallic foreign body in zone 1 between the right internal jugular vein and the common carotid artery. The patient was asymptomatic, and the foreign body was removed surgically. This case shows a rare presentation of a penetrating neck injury with a foreign body located in zone 1, where no vital internal structure was injured. As of now, no previous case report has been identified on such presentation. Thus, it will provide a valuable addition to the pre-existing literature.
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Rehan et al. (2023) studied this question.
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