Approach to Management of Intravascular Missile Emboli: Review of the Literature and Case Report

INTRODUCTION Missile embolization is regarded as a rare phenomenon in the world of penetrating trauma. While figures in the world of civilian trauma do not exist, there is reason to believe that missile emboli are frequent enough to warrant the attention of any medical decision maker who cares for trauma patients. The current literature offers a variety of cases, but consolidated commentaries on management are infrequent. While a diagnostic and management plan may be pieced together with literature review, the situation in the setting of an unfolding trauma scenario often demands a more efficient approach. In this article, the authors offer a case report, as well as a review of diagnostic evaluation and management of missile emboli with support from the literature. While definitive recommendations cannot be made based on current medical and surgical understanding of missile emboli, we summarize this article by offering a likely model of managing missile emboli by anatomical location.