[Pre- and postoperative ultrasonic study in gunshot wounds of parenchymal organs]

Timely discovery of the bullet or its fragments in the human body and determination of the character and size of the damage inflicted to the internal organs guarantee adequate treatment of the injured. USE makes it possible to exclude or recognize injury to the parenchymal organs (subscapular and intra-tissue hematomas, complete crushing of the organ), and to reveal free or bounded fluid in the abdominal and pleural cavities and in the retroperitoneal space. Moreover, USE may be applied for identifying the location of the bullet or fragment in he parenchymal organ, the subcutaneous fat or the retroperitoneal fat. Intraoperative USE proves to be of great aid in many cases because it allows complete examination of the structure of the internal organs and the abdominal spaces in all planes and the condition of the retroperitoneal fat. The article describes cases in which USE helped in precise localization of the bullet and in revealing the character of the damage, as the result of which an optimal plan of surgical intervention was chosen.