Intradural migration of a bullet following spinal gunshot injury

Pulmonary artery bullet injury following thoracic gunshot wound.

Thoracic trauma occurs frequently but seldom requires surgery (10-20%, [1]). The mortality rate for gunshot wound of the chest varies from 14.3 to 36.8% [2]. We report, herein an example of bullet injury to the pulmonary artery (PA) following a thoracic gunshot wound. This patient had previous history of coronary surgery. Absolute and relative indications for exploratory thoracotomy in emergenc...

Arterial bullet embolism following abdominal gunshot wounds.

Gunshot Wound in Lumbar Spine with Intradural Location of a Bullet

The presence of a migratory bullet in the spinal canal after a gunshot injury is a rare finding, specially without causing permanent neurologic damage. We present the case of a patient who suffered a gunshot wound with an entry point in the posterior arc of L2-L3 and a migratory bullet detected at the level of L5-S1 in the CT scan. The patient complained about intense headache, dizziness, and v...

Distant endoarterial bullet migration following penetrating chest injury.

A 61-year-old man was referred to us for massive left haemothorax (Fig. 1) following a penetrating thoracic gunshot wound. The entrance wound was between the scapula and the spine; no exit wound was evident. Left coxofemoral X-ray demonstrated the presence of the retained bullet in the left femoral region (Fig. 2). An emergency left thoracotomy was performed and a small regular round laceration...

Combat-Related Intradural Gunshot Wound to the Thoracic Spine: Significant Improvement and Neurologic Recovery Following Bullet Removal

The vast majority of combat-related penetrating spinal injuries from gunshot wounds result in severe or complete neurological deficit. Treatment is based on neurological status, the presence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistulas, and local effects of any retained fragment(s). We present a case of a 46-year-old male who sustained a spinal gunshot injury from a 7.62-mm AK-47 round that became lod...