“Luck’s Always to Blame”: Silent Wounds of a Penetrating Gunshot Trauma Sustained 20 Years Ago

Abstract

Gunshot tracheal injuries represent life-threatening events and usually necessitate emergent surgical intervention. We report a case of an exceptional finding of a patient with retained ballistic fragments in the soft tissues of the thorax, proximal to the right subclavian artery and the trachea, carrying silently his wounds for two decades without any medical or surgical intervention. The bullet pellet on the upper part of the trachea seen accidentally in the chest computed tomography, was also found during bronchoscopy. In short "luck's always to blame".

Bronchoscopy for Removal of Foreign Body in Lower Airway: A Retrospective Analysis

“…It affects both sexes, however shows preponderance in male and children below 10 years of age. 2 Males are more commonly involved as penetrating laryngotracheal injuries affects male more commonly following MVA, or they are more likely to be involved in warfare 3,4 . Nuts, seeds, tooth and headscarf pins are common foreign bodies found in lower airway.…”