Spontaneous migration of an intracranial bullet to the cervical spinal canal causing Lhermitte's sign

Abstract

✓ A case is presented of a woman who was shot in the left occipital area with a .32 caliber automatic pistol. She was neurologically intact on admission, and skull x-ray films revealed the bullet in the right suboccipital area. On the 2nd day of her admission she developed Lhermitte's sign. Repeat films showed that the bullet had migrated to the C-4 vertebral level. The bullet was subsequently removed via a total laminectomy at C3–4.