Address of Corresponding Author

Pediatric Neurosurgery 2005;41:41-45 (DOI: 10.1159/000084864)

  Key Words

• Dog bite
• Brain injuries
• Abscess

  Abstract

Brain lesions due to dog bites are not frequent and mainly concern infants in the first years of their life because they are short in height, the size of the infant's head is relatively large compared to the body and the skull bones are thin. We report the case of an infant with bilateral skin, skull and brain injuries secondary to a dog bite, and review the relative reports in the literature. We stress the need to consider the possibility of penetration into the intracranial compartment occurring in cases of dog bites of the scalp, because these wounds on the scalp and the skull may appear relatively limited, small in size and slight, in spite of associated potentially dangerous deeper lesions involving the intracranial structures that may be missed on the first observation. Infection is the main possible complication, and may be the cause of permanent and serious neurological deficits. Prompt diagnosis and therapy are mandatory to avoid complications and to achieve good clinical results.

Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Prof. Aldo Iannelli
Ospedale S. Chiara, Neurochirurgia Universitaria
Via Roma 67
IT-56126 Pisa (Italy)
Tel. +39 050 993661, Fax +39 050 993106, E-Mail a.iannelli@ao-pisa.toscana.it

  Article Information

Received: February 24, 2004
Accepted after revision: October 16, 2004
Number of Print Pages : 5
Number of Figures : 3, Number of Tables : 1, Number of References : 16