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Successful treatment of a delayed presentation of a gunshot injury to the femoral neck in an elderly man: a case report

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Abstract

Gunshot wounds involving major joints can be lethal as a result of the disruption to major neurovascular tracts. We report on a high-energy ballistic injury resulting in a comminuted femoral neck fracture in an elderly patient with a surgical delay exceeding 20 h. The patient underwent bipolar hemiarthroplasty and led a functional, satisfactory life after surgery. Lead intoxication was also identified, and the blood lead concentration was almost two times the positive diagnostic value (25 μg/dL). The rebound in lead concentration suggested delayed lead toxicity. The patient did not have symptoms of plumbism at the last follow-up 4 years after the injury.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by grants from Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH97-7R34) and the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI-EX99-9935EI) of Taiwan.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to the contents of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, No 100 Tzu-You 1st Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Cheng-Jung Ho, Hsuan-Ti Huang, Peng-Ju Huang, Sung-Yen Lin, Yin-Chih Fu, Jian-Chih Chen, Yuh-Min Cheng & Chung-Hwan Chen

  2. Departments of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Shao-Hung Hung, Hsuan-Ti Huang, Peng-Ju Huang, Yin-Chih Fu, Jian-Chih Chen, Yuh-Min Cheng & Chung-Hwan Chen

  3. Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Yin-Chih Fu & Chung-Hwan Chen

  4. Orthopaedic Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Yin-Chih Fu & Chung-Hwan Chen

  5. Department of Orthopaedics, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Peng-Ju Huang & Sung-Yen Lin

  6. Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

    Chung-Hwan Chen

  7. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Fooyin University Hospital, Tungkang Chen, Ping-Tung County, Taiwan

    Shao-Hung Hung

  8. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University and Hospital, Tainan City, Taiwan

    Lin Kang

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  1. Cheng-Jung Ho
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  2. Shao-Hung Hung
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  3. Hsuan-Ti Huang
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  6. Yin-Chih Fu
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  7. Jian-Chih Chen
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  8. Yuh-Min Cheng
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  9. Lin Kang
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  10. Chung-Hwan Chen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chung-Hwan Chen.

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Ho, CJ., Hung, SH., Huang, HT. et al. Successful treatment of a delayed presentation of a gunshot injury to the femoral neck in an elderly man: a case report. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 22 (Suppl 1), 131–133 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-012-0975-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-012-0975-2

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