Midline depressed skull fracture presenting with quadriplegia: A rare phenomenon.

BACKGROUND: Midline depressed skull fractures (MDSFs) deserve a special mention among skull fractures and should always be treated with caution. Here, an extremely unusual clinical presentation of a case of MDSF is highlighted along with its successful surgical management.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 26-year-old male presented with quadriplegia following assault on the head with sharp weapons. The patient had multiple lacerated wounds on the scalp with underlying cranial fractures. On evaluation, computerized tomography (CT) of the brain showed a midline depressed skull fracture compressing the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) causing bilateral frontoparietal venous infarction. CT venogram showed a filling defect of the SSS due to the penetrating bone fragment. He underwent elevation of the depressed fracture and repair of the sinus with pericranial graft. Patient improved neurologically, and follow-up magnetic resonance venogram showed a patent SS.

CONCLUSION: MDSF can present with quadriparesis/quadriplegia due to middle one-third SSS obstruction/thrombosis leading to bilateral motor cortical venous infarction. Such MDSFs may require emergent surgical elevation of the depressed bone fragment for restoration of the patency of the sinus.