Vigilant injuries: Battered adult male Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

The spate of vigilante attacks in Nigeria is on the increase due to questions, which have been raised about the efficiency of the regular policing and the slow pace of the judicial system. This is a case report of E.B. a 33-year-old male, who presented with a 6 day history of multiple machete cuts. Clinical examination revealed a moribund man, conscious, with a Glasgow coma scale of 15/15, pale, with multiple lacerations, deep cuts and fractures over his head, right and left upper limbs and on his right thigh that had necrotic tissue and live maggots. A clinical diagnosis of Assault with infected multiple machete cuts, multiple fractures, transacted patella tendon with floating patella and acquired cleft lip was made. He was resuscitated and managed on an in-patient basis. His fractures were manipulated and reduced, and POP cast applied. His wounds were managed using causal therapy, cleansing, conditioning and closure, and they healed primarily. The maggot colony in his right thigh wound could have been protective. He was discharged and subsequently released to the police after spending 6 weeks in hospital.