The Journal of Emergency Medicine, Vol. 61, No. 5, pp. 590–591, 2021
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
0736-4679/$ - see front matter
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2021.07.071
Visual Diagnosis in Emergency Medicine
Penetrating Intracranial Taser Injury
Brandon Delavar, and Maxwell A. Thompson
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
Reprint Address: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, AB 990J, 701 20th St South Birmingham, AL 35233.
Keywords—penetrating; intracranial; taser; Trauma;
CT scan; images
Case Report
A 22-year-old man presented to the emergency department
after a taser injury. The patient was in an altercation
with law enforcement when he received a taser shot to his
forehead from approximately 6 feet away (Figures 1 and
2). The patient reported a loss of consciousness during the
event and complained of a headache, but was otherwise
neurologically intact with Glasgow Coma Scale score
of 15. Computed tomography imaging demonstrated a
taser barb invading the inner cortex of the right frontal
bone (Figures 3 and 4). The patient was admitted to the
neurosciences intensive care unit, where neurosurgery attempted
bedside removal (Figure 5). Bedside removal
failed, as part of the taser end piece remained, crossing
the inner table of the right frontal calvarium extending
slightly into the right frontal extra-axial space, and the
patient was taken to the operating room for complete removal.
Postoperatively, the patient made an unremarkable
and complete recovery.
Discussion
We present a case of penetrating intracranial taser injury.
Penetrating taser injuries to the head represent a
potentially dangerous scenario that usually requires operative
removal or bedside removal under sedation (1,2).
Figure 1. Image of patient with taser barb to forehead.
Figure 2. Image of patient with taser barb to forehead.
This case highlights the dangers of taser injuries to the
head causing cranial injury, while other reports have also
demonstrated injury causing seizures or ocular trauma
(3,4). Including our patient, most case reports demonstrate
full neurologic recovery of patients. As with our
case and multiple previous case reports, bedside removal
typically fails, as the taser lead generally breaks during
attempted removal, leaving part of the device embedded
Received: 18 June 2021; Final submission received: 26 July 2021;
Accepted: 31 July 2021
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Figure 3. Axial view of taser barb invading the inner cortex of the right frontal bone.
Figure 4. Sagittal view of taser barb invading the inner cortex
of the right frontal bone.
in the cranial vault (1). However, there is at least one case
report of successful bedside removal (2).
References
1. Kaloostian P, Tran H. Intracranial taser dart penetration: literature
review and surgical management. J Surg Case Rep 2012;2012(6):10.
Figure 5. Image of taser barbwithout presence of end piece
after attempted bedside removal.
2. Chandler J, Martin BP, Graham DD. TASER® injury to the forehead.
J Emerg Med 2013;44:e67–8.
3. Bui ET, Sourkes M, Wennberg R. Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
after a taser shot to the head. CMAJ 2009;l180:625–6.
4. Ng W, Chehade M. Taser penetrating ocular injury. Am J Ophthalmol
2005;139:713–15.