Long-term effects of pulmonary shrapnel injury. Report of a case with carcinoma and residual shrapnel tract.
Bullets and shrapnel fragments may occasionally lead to intrathoracic complications many years after their initial penetration. We report a case of pulmonary carcinoma arising in relation to pleural scarring from a shrapnel wound received 38 years earlier. An incidental finding was a patent, epithelialized tract running from the upper lobe pleural scar deep into the lower lobe, interpreted as a residue of the shrapnel's path through the lung.
D000231:Adenocarcinoma, Papillary / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D001753:Blast Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D055370:Lung Injury; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged