Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Chest trauma, airways and miscellaneous
Disease area: Respiratory infections, Thoracic oncology

Abstract

As the consequence of the war acts and rising criminal rate in Macedonia, unfortunately during 2001. year at the Clinic for Thoracic Surgery in Skopje there were treated 21 case with gunshot injuries of the lungs. At all patients chest x-ray was done. CT of the chest was done in 17 patients. The other 4 patients were immediately put in the opperating theatre. In 13 patients the projectil has passed through the body, in 4 cases it was in the chest wall and in 4 cases the projectil was in lung parenchyma. In 17 cases extraanatomic resection of the projectil canal was done, middle lobectomy and [dsquote]wedge[dsquote] resection of the lower lobe was done in 1 case, upper left lobectomy was performed in one case and omly suture of the lung was done in two cases. In 5 cases postopperative complications have occured. There was developing sepsis in 1 case which result with exitus of the patient. In 1 case where only suture was done, postopperatively lung abscess was developed and cosequent lower right lobectomy was done. In the other patient infection of the exit gunshot wound has appeared. Postoperative empyema has developed in 1 case. Very interesting and rare complication has developed in 28 years old policemann where the entrance of the bullet was above the left sternoclavicular junction and the exit wound was on the back, by the lateral margin of the scapula. Postoperatively, mediastinitis and empyema were developed and esophageal fistula have formed. Two mediastinal and pleural drains were placed. Mediastinitis and empyema were solved, but subsequential neck esophageal diverticule persist.
Resection of projectil chanell and surrounding damaged tissue is the opperation of choice at gunshot injuries of the lung.

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Citations should be made in the following way:
A. M. Arsovski, Z. M. Spirovski, D. A. Smilevski, A. B. Krstevska (Skopje, Macedonia). Complications after gunshot injuries of the lungs. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 970

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