Per a report published in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, a woman in Somalia had a bullet surgically removed from her clitoris following an accidental shooting.
The unnamed 24-year-old woman suffered from a “vulvar area penetrating bullet injury” that was sustained when she was relaxing at home. A stray bullet reportedly came through the ceiling of her home and struck her in the genital region. The study noted that she reported to the Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu, where she received a CT scan showing a bullet lodged inside her clitoris. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first wayward bullet injury penetrating the vulvar area with a retained bullet in the clitoris,” the authors of the study on the case wrote.
“Imaging revealed that the foreign body was confined to the clitoris, and no evidence of other parts of the body,” the report revealed. “Under local anesthesia, the bullet was accessed and removed from the clitoris by performing a minor incision. No complications were observed following the surgical removal of the bullet.” In a follow-up appointment one month after the surgery, the woman was determined to be in good health.
The injury was seen as exceptionally rare by the authors, who noted that “vulvic trauma” not sustained from pregnancy is considered uncommon. Such injuries are typically only the result of sports, bites, or sexual assault.
