GUNSHOT INJURY OF THE MAXILLOFACIAL REGION: A CASE REPORT

Gunshot injuries involving the head and neck confer a high potential for profound morbidity and mortality rates by damaging vital neurovascular structures, including the central nervous system, carotid arteries, and jugular veins. The main manners of firearm-related death comprise homicide, suicide, and accidental events, the rates of which largely vary depending on region and country. Although a bullet is commonly thought to travel through the body in a straight line, a few patients with head and neck gunshot injuries who survived without lethal organ damage thanks to a nonlinear bullet trajectory have been reported. However, there is no report of a patient who survived a gunshot wound transversely penetrating the entire neck across its deep structures. India’s rates of violence vary greatly and in a majority of firearm related injuries illegal, unlicensed weapons are used. As in 2006, India was home to roughly 40 million civilian firearms, out of an estimated 650 million civilian owned guns then believed to exist worldwide. But only 6.3 million (just over 15%) are licensed. The unpredictable nature of the bullet also emphasizes the importance of projecting the missile trajectory. A missile trajectory-tracing software program could be an important tool in the diagnosis and management of patients with bullet injuries.