RESUMO
Self-inflicted penetrating injuries in patients with mental disorders are a rare phenomenon. The authors report the case of a prisoner who recurrently presented to the emergency department over a period of four years for self-insertion of six metal foreign bodies into the skull. Computed tomography each time revealed the presence of a metal foreign body (screw, nail, metal rod, and wire) passing through the frontal bone into the frontal lobe. In each situation, the foreign body was safely extracted with a favorable outcome. Despite the use of the latest imaging modalities, metal artifacts can limit the assessment of vascular involvement, and special attention must be given to preoperative planning. Surgical extraction of the foreign body can be safely performed when appropriate preoperative planning is carried out to consider all possible complications.