Thursday April 27, 2023
By Kit Heren
The bullet after it was removed. Picture: International Journal of Surgery Case Reports
A woman was hit in the clitoris by a stray bullet while she was sitting at home.
The bullet hit the woman after coming through the ceiling of her home in Mogadishu, in Somalia after a fight upstairs.
She was rushed to hospital with the 2cm bullet still lodged inside her clitoris. She needed surgery to have it removed.
The case was publicised by the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, who believe it is the first ever injury of its kind.
"To the best of our knowledge, this case is unique due to the bullet being retained in the clitoris," they said.
The date of the incident is unclear, and no other details of the case were given.
The victim underwent a CT scan and a pelvic exam, which identified the exact location of the bullet.
She then had surgery under local anaesthetic to remove it from her clitoris.
The bullet got stuck. Picture: International Journal of Surgery Case Reports
The woman reportedly suffered no further complications, and was released the next day "in good condition".
The authors of the report said that “vulvic trauma" cases unrelated to pregnancy are extremely rare and are often the result of sports, including straddle injuries, burns, animal/human bites and sexual assault.
Gunshot injuries are seen in “battlefield trauma or large urban areas with criminal implications," the authors said.
Stray bullet injuries are caused by low-velocity bullets and are commonly seen in residential areas in conflict-hit countries by Somalia