Analysis of 2187 consecutive penetrating wounds of the brain from Vietnam.

A series of 2187 cases of penetrating wounds of the brain, treated in a U.S. Army Hospital in Vietnam, is analyzed according to operability, wounding agents, sites of cranial penetration, associated organ system injuries, operative and postoperative complications, and mortalities. A detailed description of the operative technique of thorough intracranial debridement and dural repair is presented and stressed. The previously established principles of combat neurosurgery are confirmed and their continued use recommended.