An incidental migrating intra-spinal bullet: the silent victim of celebratory gunfire.

BACKGROUND

Incidentally found intra-spinal bullets are extremely rare, and have never been reported in the literature. The aim of this study is to report a rare case of an asymptomatic migrating intra-spinal bullet, emphasizing the role of cultural context in history taking, and describing its surgical retrieval technique.

CASE PRESENTATION

We discuss a case of a 10-years old boy with an incidentally discovered intra-spinal bullet opposite to the L5 vertebral level, who presented 3 months after the suspected initial insult. Following its migration to the L3/L4 level intraoperatively, the bullet was forced to spontaneously return to its preoperative position by reverse Trendelenburg Position, Valsalva maneuver and Intrathecal saline infusion, thus avoiding extending the previously performed laminectomy.

CONCLUSION

The authors remind the readers that history is the cornerstone of the clinical practice, even in the most obscure cases. Many convoluted intra-operative situations could be resolved by utilizing basic anatomical and physiological principles.