# Gunshot wounds—when, medically, is it better to leave a bullet in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236 "2009-05-04T01:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/21 "2009-05-04T19:53:01Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > President Garfield’s eventually fatal gunshot wound is now thought to have been survivable, except for his doctors’ constant probing to try and find the bullet IIRC, Garfield’s situation isn’t perfectly applicable to this particular discussion, as it wasn’t the probing itself so much as the fact that it was being done with unsterilized fingers. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/22 "2009-05-05T00:37:42Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Is it fair to say these are typically sterile migrations– Yep. Only saw one that really looked infected. It just strikes me as risible that my patients seem to excrete spent ammo from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/23 "2009-05-05T00:49:48Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yep. Only saw one that really looked infected. > > It just strikes me as risible that my patients seem to excrete spent ammo from time to time. Thanks for that word “risible”–I will be using it myself now, on occasion, with the pretense that I knew it all along… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/24 "2009-05-05T01:06:12Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Thanks for that word “risible”–I will be using it myself now, on occasion, with the pretense that I knew it all along… Excellent! Glad to oblige. Using the term always makes me recall Pontius Pilate in “Life of Brian”. A little french goes a long way, in so many situations. Try whispering this into your paramour’s ear: “Je t’aime! Je t’aime! Maintenant fait le bruit du cochon!” Heightened sensuality will follow! Unless your paramour understands french. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/25 "2009-05-05T02:31:59Z")
Is there any concern about leaving pieces of metal in the body with the potential that a patient might in the future need an MRI? Or is that not an issue? (I mean, House shot that corpse once to see what would happen and he broke yet another MRI.) ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/26 "2009-05-05T03:10:13Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Infection and inflammation are not a problem for the most part if it’s just metal. You would think that the heat of the barrel would sterilize the bullet, right? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/27 "2009-05-05T03:13:08Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Is there any concern about leaving pieces of metal in the body with the potential that a patient might in the future need an MRI? Or is that not an issue? (I mean, House shot that corpse once to see what would happen and he broke yet another MRI.) Metal–particularly ferrous metal in some locations can present a problem. However the existence of other imaging techniques means it’s not usually by itself sufficient reason to undertake a procedure just to remove metal on the assumption that a patient might someday need an MRI. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/28 "2009-05-05T03:17:57Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Do you know how common it is that pieces of clothing are carried into the wound cavity? I should have mentioned, for the sake of Doper-level completeness, that nail penetrations through tennis shoes have been felt to be particularly problematic, perhaps because a small amount of tennis shoe foreign body is punched past the skin barrier. Potentially nasty organisms apparently have a predilection for living in tennis shoes. While this is not a weapon-related wound, it’s still a penetrating injury. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/29 "2009-05-05T04:52:21Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Excellent! Glad to oblige. Using the term always makes me recall Pontius Pilate in “Life of Brian”. > > A little french goes a long way, in so many situations. > > Try whispering this into your paramour’s ear: “Je t’aime! Je t’aime! Maintenant fait le bruit du cochon!” Heightened sensuality will follow! > > Unless your paramour understands french. > > :smack: Do I have this right? I love you! I love you! Now squeal like a pig in heat! ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/30 "2009-05-05T13:49:41Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Do I have this right? > > I love you! I love you! Now squeal like a pig in heat! Not quite. I love you! I love you! Now make the pig noise! **treis** , bacteria can stand up to a surprising amount of heat, if it’s not prolonged. So I’d not count on the bullet to be sterile due do its being fired. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/31 "2009-05-05T14:21:02Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Try whispering this into your paramour’s ear: “Je t’aime! Je t’aime! Maintenant fait le bruit du cochon!” Hrm… \*\*Pig \*\*noises or \*\*big \*\*noises? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/32 "2009-05-05T21:59:51Z")
**Chief Pedant** said: > [@](#): > > I do not know why Westerns and the like make such an event of digging out the bullet (or arrowhead, for that matter). Other items like wood (from arrows) or cloth fragments (from clothing) lead to infection. Before antibiotics, there was a noticable correlation between digging out the bullet/arrow and survival. > [@](#): > > Thousands of asymptomatic soldiers walk around with a great deal of metal in their bodies. So what are the symptoms of being a soldier? 😉 **Qadgop the Mercotan** said: > [@](#): > > Try whispering this into your paramour’s ear: “Je t’aime! Je t’aime! Maintenant fait le bruit du cochon!” Heightened sensuality will follow! Since I can’t pronounce French, heightened sensuality is fairly unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/33 "2009-05-06T04:03:04Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Is there any concern about leaving pieces of metal in the body with the potential that a patient might in the future need an MRI? Or is that not an issue? (I mean, House shot that corpse once to see what would happen and he broke yet another MRI.) What would be the issue with an MRI? The bullet isn’t going to explode like a piece of foil in the microwave or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/34 "2009-05-06T04:37:17Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > What would be the issue with an MRI? The bullet isn’t going to explode like a piece of foil in the microwave or anything. [MRI Safety Video](http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3911691380555981564) (good part starts about 4:10). Also depends on the composition/jacket of the bullet, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/35 "2009-05-06T04:59:12Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Also it is good to leave it in place when you are a world-dominating villain who has been shot in the head with a bullet which is migrating through your brain and will eventually kill you but makes you stronger as it goes on. > > I learned this from a Bond film. I also learned that nuclear physicists look like Denise Richards. You only _think_ they do because the bullet is pressing on the beer-goggle cortex. ---
**Author:** ![bigshooter44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@bigshooter44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bigshooter44)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/36 "2011-08-23T05:45:40Z")
i know its not the same thing as a firearm but the pellet is still inside me and im quite concerned now. its in far to deep for me to just start digging around, it was only a .177 cal pellet. iv narrowed my concern’s to tetanus and lead poisoning. i cleaned it out with alcohol and bandaged it with an anti bacterial cream, is there anything else i should do besides go to the doctor? i don’t want to have a police report filed because it was one of my friends. its a small town and word travels fast. any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/37 "2011-08-23T06:05:14Z")
Go to the doctor and stop posting about it on the internet, geez. If you’re worried about it, just say you had your Red Ryder bb gun out and you almost shot your eye out, kid. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/38 "2011-08-23T08:22:17Z")
> [@bigshooter44](#): > > is there anything else i should do besides go to the doctor? i don’t want to have a police report filed because it was one of my friends. Do American doctors have to/can report it when they treat a bullet wound? Wouldn’t this be covered by medical confidentiality? ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/39 "2011-08-23T09:16:25Z")
[Cracked article](http://www.cracked.com/article/18363_6-life-saving-techniques-from-movies-that-can-kill-you_p2/) with links. (Nr. 1) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236/40 "2011-08-23T13:26:38Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Do American doctors have to/can report it when they treat a bullet wound? Wouldn’t this be covered by medical confidentiality? Heck, infectious diseases that are a public health concern will get reported to the appropriate state authority; evidence of a crime almost certainly would as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gunshot-wounds-when-medically-is-it-better-to-leave-a-bullet-in/495236.md?page=3)