Stab wounds to the spinal cord are relatively uncommon in North America, bu
t even rarer is the presentation of such an injury in a delayed fashion. We
report a case of a 31-year-old male who presented with neurologic deficit
4 weeks after a stab wound injury to the spine. Because of worsening neurol
ogic deficit, the retained knife fragment was operatively removed, and the
patient had an uneventful recovery. The management of such an injury is dis
cussed, with a review of the literature. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.