Two days with a broken knife blade in the neck--an interesting case of Horner's syndrome

Delayed Horner's Syndrome After Multiple Penetrating Stab Injury of the Neck

Horner's syndrome is characterized by a triad of symptoms (ipsilateral miosis, ptosis, and anhidrosis) with damage of the sympathetic nervous system. The condition may be congenital or acquired from traumatic conditions including cardiovascular surgery. Horner's syndrome can be also caused by neck trauma especially when cervical vital structures such as blood vessels, the aerodigestive tract, and nerves are disrupted. This report describes a 16-year-old woman with delayed Horner's syndrome who initially presented with internal jugular vein injury caused by multiple penetrating stab injury to the neck. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Horner's syndrome resulting from neck trauma of which symptoms were presented after a couple of weeks after initial trauma. Understanding this rare clinical course may help surgeons pay attention to not only early hospital course but also long-term complications of patients with neck trauma.