Max Hospital, Saket successfully removes bullet from man's lung after 16 years

New Delhi: Doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, saved 45-year-old man’s life by removing a bullet that had been lodged in his left lung for 16 years. Shailender Singh, who sustained a gunshot wound in 2008 and had lived with the bullet lodged perilously close to his heart, until it recently started causing life-threatening complications.

Singh, a resident of Kanpur, presented to Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket after experiencing chest pain and coughing of blood. He revealed that he was shot in the chest in 2008, and the bullet got stuck in his left lung, very close to the heart. Over the years, he sought multiple opinions from specialists in Kanpur, but due to the dangerous location of the bullet near vital structures, including his heart and lungs, doctors advised against surgery. He received non-surgical treatment and remained free of symptoms for years.

However, he started experiencing severe chest pain since last one year and began coughing up blood. The symptoms just got worse over time.

A team of doctors led by Dr Shaiwal Khandelwal, Associate Director, Thoracic Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, evaluated the patient and removed the bullet as well as the damaged lung.

Elaborating on case details, Dr Shaiwal Khandelwal said, “The patient remained asymptomatic until last year when he developed left-side chest pain and started to cough out blood (hemoptysis). The quantity and frequency of blood in his cough progressively increased. The then consulted us and his CT scan suggested a bullet in the left lung hilum with collapse consolidation of the lung. He was advised surgery, however, the patient went to his hometown to get a second opinion. Soon, he started to cough out massive amount of blood and he gave us a distress call and got admitted at Max Hospital, Saket.

“His bronchoscopy revealed a bullet pressing upon the airway with active bleeding from the left upper lobe of the lung. An emergency surgery was performed to remove the bullet and the damaged part of the lung. His condition improved significantly after the surgery.,” Dr Khandelwal added.

Dr Khandelwal pointed out bullets that are located at dangerous locations and cause no symptoms are usually left untreated. Sometimes these bullets may cause foreign body reactions and may migrate and invade the vital structures as has happened with this patient.

“It is extremely rare to see a long-standing impacted bullet cause life-threatening bleeding. As a life-saving measure emergency surgery is done and the whole lung may have to be removed. In this case, we removed only the cause of bleeding and the already damaged lung,” he added.

The patient has been discharged and recovering well at home.