A 30-year-old Canadian woman who was shot while walking in the street was saved by her silicone breast prosthesis as the bullet headed straight for her heart. This is only the third case of this type reported in the scientific literature.
On this quiet evening in 2018, Jessica (not her real name) is walking down a Toronto street when she feels “a sharp pain and a feeling of heatheat » in the left breast. The young 30-year-old Canadian then noticed with horror that blood was flowing from her chest and went to the emergency room.
Doctors discovered a large circular incision in the upper part of her left breast, which they immediately attributed to a gun. firefire. “ The entry lesion shows a thermal injury around the bullet hole, indicating that the gunshot was fired at a very close range », they describe in the magazine Plastic Surgery Case Studieswho reports this case.
At the same time, doctors detect on palpation “ a massmass subcutaneous bullet-like hardness in the anterior chest wall, just under the right breast “. The young woman having silicone breast implants, the scenario appears obvious: Jessica has just been saved by her prosthesis, which deflected the trajectory of the bullet.
The prosthesis covered the young woman’s heart, saving her from certain death
According to x-rays and a lung scan carried out by the hospital, the bullet entered through the top of the left breast, then was slowed and deflected by the silicone implant, the envelope of which was pierced, before rebounding on a rib (found fractured) and to reach its location under the right breast. By miracle, ” the bullet did not cause any lung or intrathoracic damage », notes the article.
The doctors first remove the left prosthesis in order to be able to remove the projectile, a bullet in coppercopper 1.40 caliber. The right prosthesis, also removed, although intact, was completely displaced, giving an idea of the extent of the impact.
“ Based on entry trajectory and radiological assessment, the only source of bullet deflection is the left breast implantsay the authors. This implantimplant covers the heart and the intrathoracic cavity and therefore certainly saved the woman’s life “. After a brief observation period, Jessica will emerge in great shape. The weapon and the shooter will, however, never be found.
An extremely rare story that ends well
This is only the third case of a woman saved by her breast implant documented in the scientific literature. “ A surprising and low figure when you take into account the high number of breast surgeries and firearm injuries in the United States », the authors are surprised. 290,000 women received breast implants in 2016 alone and 136,000 Americans are injured or killed by firearms each year, according to the Giffords association.
