Major vascular neck injury from a handgun cartridge casing.
We present a case from the Johannesburg General Hospital of a zone II low-velocity penetrating neck injury with involvement of the ipsilateral subclavian artery. When the "bullet" was retrieved, it was noted not to be an actual bullet but rather a cartridge casing. We speculate that this injury represents one of several possible misfiring scenarios from a homemade firearm. Injuries from homemade firearms are infrequent in the literature, and only one other similar case of a cartridge casing causing a penetrating injury was found. A brief review of homemade handheld firearms is offered.
Intertrauma Medical Consulting, New York, NY 10013, USA. guerrero@intertrauma.com
Alejandro
A
Guerrero
David J
DJ
Vassallo
D000328:Adult; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D007601:Jugular Veins / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013019:South Africa; D013348:Subclavian Artery / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D054041:Weapons; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology