An unusual case of ‘collapse query cause’
by A Barclay and C Weaver
A 60-year-old woman attended A&E following an unwitnessed ‘collapse query cause’. Over 4 months she recalled involuntary movement of her eyes and head to the left and, on one occasion, complete rotation of her body. She had subtle neurological signs. Imaging identified the cause of these adversive seizures. (Accident and Emergency Medicine and Surgery (including Trauma); Neurology; 13th June 2007) More...

Acute abdomen and angioedema: a classic presentation
by Mohamad Hachem, Thomas Rix and Salem Shubber
Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is an infrequent disorder characterised by abnormalities in the levels and/or function of complement C1 esterase inhibitor (C1 INH). Clinical manifestations of HAE are due to recurrent episodic swelling of the subcutaneous or submucosal tissue. When swelling involves the gastrointestinal mucosa, patients may present with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and severe abdominal pain. However, HAE is almost never suspected as a potential cause of acute abdomen. We describe a typical case of hereditary C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency in a 37-year-old woman presenting with recurrent acute abdomen and who had undergone negative surgical interventions before diagnosis was eventually established. Both the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this rare condition is discussed in this report. (Accident and Emergency Medicine, Surgery (including Trauma); 28th March 2007) More...

Pseudoaneurysm of the superficial temporal artery: case report and review of the literature
by J. Shalhoub, M. Hamish, M. B. Sikkel and A. H. Davies
Since the first description by Bartholin in 1740, 386 cases of aneurysms of the facial vasculature have been reported in the world literature. Of these, less than 200 were of the superficial temporal artery (STA) [1]. Such STA lesions are commonly pseudoaneurysms presenting within weeks of direct trauma. We present a case of STA pseudoaneurysm following a closed head injury.
(May 25th 2006) More...

Severe penetrating neck injury, successfully repaired epiglottis
by V. Savinsky and G. Roshchin
Penetrating traumatic laryngeal--pharyngeal injuries are relatively rare and traumatic injuries to the epiglottis are extremely rare. The incidence varies between countries. Most of these cases are dealt with by ear, nose and throat specialists, and trauma surgeons deal with such trauma when concomitant injury is present. In our institution laryngeal--pharyngeal trauma occurs 3--5 times per year. The literature records one case of penetrating injury to the epiglottis with complete transection but without an attempt at surgical repair [1]. This report describes a traumatic laceration with subtotal trans-section of epiglottis which was successfully repaired.
(May 25th 2006) More...

Penetrating gunshot injury to the chest with unusual intraluminal passage of the bullet
The authors present an unusual case of penetrating chest trauma.This serves to remind clinicians that all possibilities should be considered when managing trauma victims (January 2004) More...

Intra-Abdominally Retained Knife Following Lower Thoracic Stab Wound: A Potential Hazard
A patient presenting with a left thoracic wound causing pneumothorax and treated with a chest tube is presented. A chest X-ray barely revealed the base of an unsuspected, completely retained intra-abdominal knife. (February 2001) More...