Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Skull fracture with effacement of the superior sagittal sinus following drone impact: a case report

  • Case Report
  • Published:
Child's Nervous System Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, raises safety concerns as they become increasingly common for commercial, personal, and recreational use. Collisions between drones and people may result in serious injuries.

Case report

A 13-year-old male presented with a comminuted depressed skull fracture causing effacement of the superior sagittal sinus secondary to a racing drone impact. The patient experienced a brief loss of consciousness and reported lower extremity numbness and weakness after the accident. Imaging studies revealed bone fragments crossing the superior sagittal sinus with a short, focal segment of blood flow interruption. Neurosurgical intervention was deferred given the patient’s improving neurological deficits, and the patient was treated conservatively. He was discharged home in stable condition.

Conclusion

Drones may represent a hazard when operated inappropriately due to their capacity to fly at high speeds and altitudes. Impacts from drones can carry enough force to cause skull fractures and significant head injuries. The rising popularity of drones likely translates to an increased incidence of drone-related injuries. Thus, clinicians should be aware of this growing trend.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Federal Aviation Administration (2016) Operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft systems. In: 81 Federal Register 42063. Available online. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/06/28/2016-15079/operation-and-certification-of-small-unmanned-aircraft-systems. Accessed 28 Jan 2017 

  2. Federal Aviation Administration (2016) Unmanned aircraft systems. In: FAA Aerospace Forecast. Available online. https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation/aerospace_forecasts/media/FY2017-37_FAA_Aerospace_Forecast.pdf. Accessed 28 Jan 2017

  3. Gettinger D, Michel AH (2015) Drone sightings and close encounters: an analysis. Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College. Available online. http://dronecenter.bard.edu/files/2015/12/12-11-Drone-Sightings-and-Close-Encounters.pdf. Accessed 28 Jan 2017

  4. Yoganandan N, Pintar FA, Sances A Jr, Walsh PR, Ewing CL, Thomas DJ, Snyder RG (1995) Biomechanics of skull fracture. J Neurotrauma 12:659–668

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Saukko P, Knight B (2004) Head and spinal injuries. Knight's Forensic Pathology. Hodder Arnold, London, pp 181–189

    Google Scholar 

  6. Behera SK, Senapati SB, Mishra SS, Das S (2015) Management of superior sagittal sinus injury encountered in traumatic head injury patients: analysis of 15 cases. Asian J Neurosurg 10:17–20

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Rish BL (1971) The repair of dural venous sinus wounds by autogenous venorrhaphy. J Neurosurg 35:392–395

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Meier U, Gartner F, Knopf W, Klotzer R, Wolf O (1992) The traumatic dural sinus injury—a clinical study. Acta Neurochir 119:91–93

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kim YS, Jung SH, Lim DH, Kim TS, Kim JH, Lee JK (2015) Traumatic dural venous sinus injury. Korean J Neurotrauma 11:118–123

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

L.K.C was partially supported by the AMA Foundation Seed Grant, the AΩA Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowship, the Gurtin Skull Base Fellowship, and the Tina and Fred Segel Benign Brain Tumor & Skull Base Surgery Fellowship. C.L. was partially supported by the Gurtin Skull Base Research Fellowship and the Tina and Fred Segel Benign Brain Tumor & Skull Base Surgery Fellowship. I.Y. was partially supported by the UCLA Visionary Ball Fund Grant, the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research UCLA Scholars in Translational Medicine Program Award, the Jason Dessel Memorial Seed Grant, the UCLA Honberger Endowment Brain Tumor Research Seed Grant, and the Stop Cancer! Research Career Development Award.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Lawrance K. Chung, Yuri Cheung, Carlito Lagman, Nicholas Au Yong, Duncan Q. McBride & Isaac Yang

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA

    Duncan Q. McBride & Isaac Yang

  3. Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Isaac Yang

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Isaac Yang

  5. Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Isaac Yang

Authors
  1. Lawrance K. Chung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yuri Cheung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carlito Lagman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nicholas Au Yong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Duncan Q. McBride
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Isaac Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Isaac Yang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from the individual participants included in the study.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chung, L.K., Cheung, Y., Lagman, C. et al. Skull fracture with effacement of the superior sagittal sinus following drone impact: a case report. Childs Nerv Syst 33, 1609–1611 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-017-3485-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-017-3485-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation