Successfully removed bullet that had been in a veteran's body for more than 60 years

Information from Military Hospital 7B, Military Region 7 (located in Dong Nai) said that as of July 4, the health condition of veteran Nguyen Van Duoc (83 years old, residing in An Giang province) who suffered from an abscess in the hip and thigh due to a bullet stuck there for more than 60 years has stabilized, the pain has subsided, he can walk well and will be discharged next week.

Previously, on July 2, veteran Nguyen Van Duoc was hospitalized with multiple abscesses in his hips, pain, and difficulty walking, a condition that had persisted for many years.

In 1964, during the war, he was shot deep in the right thigh. Due to the difficult location, doctors at that time could not remove the bullet from his body.

After that, he went to many places, performed many surgeries but still could not remove the bullet. The bullet has been stuck in his right thigh for more than 60 years and he considers it a part of his body.

Through examination, doctors determined that the bullet was located behind the right hip, not fixed in place, compressing and infecting surrounding tissue, so surgery was indicated to remove the foreign object from the body.

During surgery, the doctors incised the abscessed flesh, removed a lot of thick pus, searched for the fistula, and after about 45 searches, they determined the exact location of the bullet. The doctors proceeded to remove the foreign object, the AR15 bullet head, from his body.

Specialist II Doctor Nguyen Thanh Trung, Head of General Surgery Department, 7B Military Hospital, said that the most difficult part of this surgery is to determine the location because this foreign object is constantly moving. Therefore, the doctors must be very meticulous and careful because if the bullet is slightly off, it will move, making the difficulty of the surgery many times more difficult. When removed, the bullet was still shiny and relatively intact.

According to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, the surgery was not only a professional success, but also had special significance as it took place during the month of gratitude to war invalids and martyrs. This is an act to show gratitude to those who have devoted themselves to the Fatherland, and at the same time demonstrate the responsibility of doctors towards war veterans./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/gap-thanh-cong-dau-dan-nam-hon-60-nam-trong-co-the-mot-cuu-chien-binh-post1047934.vnp