Gunshot wounds - how often do they NOT remove the bullet? (serious question!!!)

[Mabouya]

I kid you not:

My parents live overseas, in an area where the healthcare is iffy at best. Yesterday (Thursday) while dropping some stuff off at a recycling spot in a sketchy part of town my father (retired, so he's no spring chicken) was mugged. To make a long story short, he ended up with a bullet in his shoulder (and a total of 9 rounds in the car, as he tried to drive off - the dude was lucky). As best I can tell, nothing like a major blood vessel was hit. (I got this third hand from my sister, who got if from my mother.) Apparently they think he'll be well enough to go home on Friday, so I guess it couldn't have been a huge deal.

(There's no plan for them to come to the US for treatment - I think they would have done so if it was a critical.)

Here's the issue: They (the doctors) decided to not remove the bullet. I have no idea where it ended up. All my sister knows is "shoulder." How typical is it, assuming that the bullet doesn't end up near something very sensitive (which I assume it couldn't have, otherwise, I would not think that he would be getting out so quickly) for them to not remove it?

TIA
M

[vqdriver]

I have a couple close friends that are ER docs and one that's a trauma surgeon in "la ghetto" so I've heard my fair share of horror stories. (but I'm no health professional so this is all anectodal). From what I gather it's not unheard of to leave things in, tho they strongly prefer to remove foreign bodies if possible. Things to consider are if it's an imminent threat to arteries or nerves in the local area (ex. adjacent to the heart, spine, or lungs), will the procedure to remove a deeply embedded object cause more damage than the thing itself (ex. joints), risk assessment of possible infection, patient's health otherwise.... etc. Also, depending on where the bullet ended up your dad may have to get X-rays on a semi regular basis to make sure it's not moving around.
You may be able to have a doctor here look at his film and get a preliminary recommendation, assuming X-rays are available


You'll have to consider those things as well and decide what you wanna do. But if it were my dad I'd fly him back to the states regardless. It's much better to deal with this now than after all the scar tissue has set in. Even if the doctors here say its ok to leave it at least he can be with family during his recovery.

Beware signs of infection. Probably a good idea to have him on antibiotics prior to the flight as well. Last thing you want is for him to run a mad fever at 40000 feet.

Consult your physician. I'm not a medical professional and all that

Best of luck.

[doctor855]

Where I come from ten shots fired constitutes a bit more than a "mugging".
Glad he is okay.

[Ben]

Got no answer to your question, but glad your dad is OK.

[Jason Musgrave]

Nothing useful to add other than we've got a kid here (18yrs) who's had a bullet in his head since he was 2.5.

Glad he's ok!

[prcrstn8]

Greg LeMond still has 37 shotgun pellets in his body from the '87 shooting accident.