The Sage Journals’ Plastic Surgery Case Studies revealed a new report this week that claimed a woman’s life was saved by her breast implants when she was shot with a gun.
The report states:
A 30-year-old woman with a history of subpectoral silicone breast implants placed through a periareolar incision (450 mL smooth round) was seen by the trauma service for evaluation of penetrating chest trauma due to gunshot wound. The events of the evening are the subject of investigation. The patient reported walking down street and feeling heat and pain in her left chest, looking down and seeing blood, and taking herself into the local emergency department.
The firearm was never recovered, and the shooter remains unknown. The patient was transferred to our trauma center in stable condition with no additional injuries. Clinical examination revealed a comfortable patient in no distress with a single entry wound in the superior pole of the left breast.
The entry wound demonstrated thermal injury surrounding the bullet hole indicating close proximity to the discharging firearm. A hard, subcutaneous, bullet-like mass was also palpable in the right lower anterior thoracic wall inferior to the right breast. Trauma radiographs demonstrate the radio-opaque bullet in the right lateral thoracic wall, a fractured rib and gas in the left breast. These 3 pieces of evidence give clues to the bullet’s trajectory from left breast entrance to right thoracic wall resting place. A computed tomography (CT) scan was obtained which revealed areas of pulmonary contusion but no intrathoracic injury. In the left-sided breast implant, there was debris and air.
There was also some air noted in the right breast implant. The patient was evaluated and cleared by our trauma service.
Breast augmentation with silicone implants is one of the most commonly performed operations by plastic surgeons. Here, we report a case of a 30-year-old female patient with a ballistic injury to bilateral breast implants, where the silicone implant was likely responsible for deflecting the bullets trajectory and saving the women’s life. Ballistics analysis of bullet trajectory was performed with high-resolution computed tomography scan analysis. Operative management was implant removal, pocket irrigation, and a short course of antibiotics. A literature review was performed on all previously published breast implant–related firearm injuries. The authors advise operative management with implant removal and delay of replantation for minimum 6 months’ time.
Don’t believe it? Check out the full report here.
Now for something totally random…