Laminectomy for Penetrating Spinal Cord Injury with Retained Foreign Bodies

BACKGROUND: Penetrating spinal cord injury (PSCI) with retained foreign bodies (RFB) is rarely observed in clinics and may result in a complete or incomplete neurological deficit. This study was performed to appraise the treatment effect of laminectomy for PSCI with RFB. CASE PRESENTATION: This study presented three patients referred to a tertiary hospital between August 2011 and October 2018 due to PSCI with RFB and receiving laminectomy. The first patient was a 25‐year‐old female with a butcher's knife piercing the T(9) lamina and T(10) vertebral body obliquely; the second was a 49‐year‐old male who suffered a perforating wound of the cervical spinal canal and injury of vertebral artery from foreign glass, while the third was a 60‐year‐old male with a wooden stick penetrating stomach and terminating in the L(1) lamina. The first and second patients immediately underwent laminectomy for debridement and removal of RFB, while the third received two‐staged operations to remove the retained stick thoroughly. Unfortunately cases 1 and 3 eventually resulted in total paralysis and case 2 revealed no improvement in myodynamia. Then, Medline/PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched, and 23 articles involving 25 additional cases with this kind of injury were included for analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal treatment strategy for penetrating spinal cord injury with retained foreign bodies remains challenging and should be assessed case‐by‐case. If possible, surgical removal of foreign bodies by laminectomy is preferred immediately to prevent delayed presentation and persistent contamination. Meanwhile, a multidisciplinary team is needed to address concomitant injuries.