Rising Trend of “Veil Entanglement Injuries” in Northern Ghana: A Case Series

INTRODUCTION: Veils are thin garments that are worn over the head, wrapped round the neck, and left hanging loosely over the torso up to the thighs. They are also known as scarf or “dupatta.” Veils can get entangled in spokes of motorbikes or in belt-driven machinery resulting in a variety of life-threating injuries. CASE REPORTS: We report nine major cases of veil entanglement injuries (VEI) that presented to the Orthopedic Unit of Tamale Teaching Hospital from July 10, 2017 to June 12, 2020. All the patients were females with ages ranging from 5-months to 44-year. All the accidents involved either a motorbike or auto rickshaw. Head, neck, and extremity injuries were the most common. Eight out of nine patients had circumferential neck bruise referred to as “veil sign” in this report. One patient died. CONCLUSION: The rising trend of VEI is alarming among women in Northern Ghana. We recommend widespread public education and awareness creation. We also recommend modification of traffic regulations by policy makers to avert this avoidable injury.