Background: Owing to the diversity in cause and damage, there is no standard surgical treatment method for a complicated penetrating craniofacial injury. We report the treatment of a complicated penetrating head injury caused by a steel bar.
Case report: A 66-year-old woman fell onto a steel bar at a construction site, and it penetrated the mandible, entered the sinus and orbital cavities, and reached the base of the frontal bone.
Results: A multi-disciplinary team including a neurosurgeon, otolaryngologist, and plastic surgeon was involved in removing the steel bar. The patient survived without sequelae except for blindness in the right eye.
Conclusions: Despite the lack of standardized surgical treatment for a complicated penetrating craniofacial injury, aggressive treatment by a multidisciplinary team can result in good outcomes.