Percutaneous Transjugular Extraction of Venous Bullet Embolism to the Right Ventricle

Ann Thorac Surg. 2018 Dec;106(6):e281-e283. doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2018.05.014. Epub 2018 Jun 5.

Abstract

Migration of a bullet to a distant part of the body after a gunshot is rarely observed in the clinical setting; migration to the heart is even rarer. There are usually no clear symptoms or signs from migration of a bullet. The case of a 28-year-old man with an intracardiac bullet migration 2 months after a gunshot wound to the right abdomen is presented. We propose that the bullet migrated along the vena cava to the right ventricle. Interventional radiology with a percutaneous transjugular extraction was used to recover this intracardiac projectile.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Injuries / etiology*
  • Adult
  • Embolism / etiology*
  • Embolism / surgery*
  • Foreign-Body Migration / etiology*
  • Foreign-Body Migration / surgery*
  • Heart Diseases / etiology*
  • Heart Diseases / surgery*
  • Heart Ventricles*
  • Humans
  • Jugular Veins
  • Male
  • Wounds, Gunshot / complications*