title: Liposuction Technique Used as a Treatment Modality for Suicide Attempt by Injection of Mercury.
abstract: Elemental mercury poisoning commonly occurs through vapour inhalation as it is well absorbed through the lungs. Administering subcutaneous and intravenous elemental mercury is very uncommon with only a few isolated case reports in literature. We present a case of attempted suicide by subcutaneous injection of elemental mercury, an unusual substance used for suicide. As the attempt at self-injury was not confessed by the patient, diagnosis was challenging. Patient was treated with an initial diagnosis of cellulitis, but with repeated and persistent questioning, a history of self-injection of mercury into the arm was revealed. On confirmation, mercury was aspirated from subcutaneous space similar to liposuction technique under X-ray guidance. Management of subcutaneous injection of elemental mercury with particular emphasis on the need for surgical removal of all available mercury is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Mysore Road, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Sai Suraj
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7572-0246
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kotera
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Mysore Road, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: K C Madhu
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Shankar
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital, Mysore Road, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajagopalan
keywords: Elemental mercury; Self-inflected injury; Subcutaneous injection; Suicide