Gun shot chest injury treated successfully ; a case report

Abstract

In Japan there are few reports of gun shot injuries because the owning of guns is not permitted. Recently we treated successfully a 38-year-old man who was shot with a 22-caliber pistol. The bullet penetrated the right lungs from the anterior chest wall to the postero-lateral wall. He underwent emergency open thoracotomy because of a persistent shock state due to massive intrathoracic bleeding. Since there was no injury of the great vessels, the lacerated lung was sutured directly. The postoperative course was uneventful.