Pulmonary bullet embolism – a safe treatment strategy of a potentially fatal injury: a case report

BACKGROUND: Vascular embolization of a projectile discharged from a weapon is a rare event. In this report a hunter's errant gunshot struck a farmer in the left chest. CASE REPORT: The projectile was lodged between the apex of the heart and the diaphragm. The patient was treated non-operatively and was discharged home only to return to the emergency department with chest pain and subsequent identification of the projectile in the left inferior pulmonary vein. Operative management consisted of a median sternotomy, cardiopulmonary bypass, and a pulmonary venectomy. CONCLUSION: He was subsequently discharged home and recovered uneventfully.