Intraoperative Ultrasound for Extracting Deep-Seated Radio-Opaque Foreign Body from Calf: A Case Report

JBJS Case Connect. 2023 Dec 14;13(4). doi: 10.2106/JBJS.CC.23.00044. eCollection 2023 Oct 1.

Abstract

Case: A 50-year-old man presented with chronic refractory symptoms of radiating leg pain with muscle cramps because of a retained bullet in the calf after being shot in 1990. Radiographs confirmed the bullet lodged in posterolateral aspect of calf abutting proximal fibula. An intraoperative point-of-care ultrasound aided in accurate localization of bullet, thereby facilitating precise planning of surgical incision and subsequent removal.

Conclusions: Ultrasound can be used as an alternative tool for safe surgical extraction of deep-seated metallic object with minimal tissue dissection, obviating the need for C-arm.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Fibula
  • Foreign Bodies* / diagnostic imaging
  • Foreign Bodies* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Intraoperative Care
  • Leg* / diagnostic imaging
  • Leg* / surgery
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pain / etiology
  • Pain / surgery
  • Ultrasonography*
  • Wounds, Gunshot* / surgery