Penetrating wound of the heart manifested with peripheral embolism--case report.
BACKGROUND
Heart injuries can be classified as penetrating and non-penetrating (blunt). Penetrating wounds are usually caused by stabbing with a piercing object, weapon or projectiles--missiles. The right atrium is damaged in most cases, because of its anatomical position--making the most of the anterior side of the heart. Morbidity caused by stabbing injuries to the heart is 20%-30%, while piercing wounds cause 30%-60% of deaths.


METHODS
. A 28-year-old patient was admitted to our clinic with acute ischemia of the extremities. Angiography revealed a bullet in the right common femoral artery, occluding it. The patient denied having any piercing or shooting wound to his leg, but he said that four years before he had been shot to his chest. Echocardiography revealed an atrial septal defect of secondary type. An event reconstruction revealed that, four years after shooting, the bullet was displaced from the heart to the right common femoral artery.


CONCLUSIONS
This case report is unique because of the rare type of injury, time that passed from the injury, the way bullet entered the artery (via atrial septal defect) and especially the success of both surgical procedures (embolectomy and repair of atrial septal defect).
Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia. velinovicsurg@gmail.com
Milos
M
Velinović
Mile
M
Vranes
Biljana
B
Obrenović-Kirćanski
Svetozar
S
Putnik
Aleksandar
A
Mikić
Dragutin
D
Savić
Radmila
R
Karan
Natasa
N
Kovacević-Kostić
D000328:Adult; D005263:Femoral Artery; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000209:etiology*; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply*; D008297:Male; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology