Citation

Viel G, Cecchetto G, Manara R, Cecchetto A, Montisci M. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2011; 32(2): 172-175.

Affiliation

From the *Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Padova; †Neuroradiologic Unit, University Hospital of Padova; and ‡Department of Diagnostic Science and Special Therapies, Pathology Unit, University of Padua, Padova, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PAF.0b013e318219c88c

PMID

21512384

Abstract

Patients affected by cranial trauma with depressed skull fractures and increased intracranial pressure generally undergo neurosurgical intervention. Because craniotomy and craniectomy remove skull fragments and generate new fracture lines, they complicate forensic examination and sometimes prevent a clear identification of skull fracture etiology. A 3-dimensional reconstruction based on preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans, giving a picture of the injuries before surgical intervention, can help the forensic examiner in identifying skull fracture origin and the means of production.We report the case of a 41-year-old-man presenting at the emergency department with a depressed skull fracture at the vertex and bilateral subdural hemorrhage. The patient underwent 2 neurosurgical interventions (craniotomy and craniectomy) but died after 40 days of hospitalization in an intensive care unit. At autopsy, the absence of various bone fragments did not allow us to establish if the skull had been stricken by a blunt object or had hit the ground with high kinetic energy. To analyze bone injuries before craniectomy, a 3-dimensional CT reconstruction based on preoperative scans was performed. A comparative analysis between autoptic and radiological data allowed us to differentiate surgical from traumatic injuries. Moreover, based on the shape and size of the depressed skull fracture (measured from the CT reformations), we inferred that the man had been stricken by a cylindric blunt object with a diameter of about 3 cm.

Language: en