Venous bullet embolism: rationale for mandatory extraction

Venous missile embolism is a rare complication of penetrating trauma which poses controversial management options. We report a case of hepatic vein bullet embolism treated by percutaneous transvenous basket relocation and extraction via femoral vein cutdown. A review of 102 reported bullet emboli since 1930 indicates that the morbidity of a retained projectile is substantial (25%), while removal using modern techniques has few complications. Salient features of early extraction include: 1) prevention of proximal migration, 2) transvenous relocation of the missile to an accessible vein, and 3) peripheral surgical removal. Delayed recognition of an asymptomatic bullet embolus demands further judgment in guiding selective operative removal. A management scheme based on time of recognition, patient status, and embolus characteristics is presented for this unusual problem.