Doctors from the Da Nang-based Hoan My Hospital have saved the life of 64-year-old Vu The Huy from Quang Ngai Province who suffered from a heart problem linked to a the already-removed bullet.

The patient after the surgery

Previously, the man had been admitted to the hospital due to signs of exhaustion and shortness of breath when engaged in any simple physical activity.

With the help of a CT scan, the doctors detected a pseudo-capsule in his chest which is partly a fibrous tissue reaction, but partly also surrounding compressed host tissue, due to an aneurysm which is a localised, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall that causes an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon.  

It was reported that, in 2012, Mr Huy, a war-veteran, underwent surgical removal of a bullet which had been lodged in his body for 40 years.  Unfortunately, a capsule of the pseudoaneurysm started developing due to the lodging of the bullet over such a long time.

After conducting many consultations and examinations for Mr Huy, the doctors performed emergency surgery on the 64-year-old patient.  Finally, the pseudo-capsule was removed successfully out of his chest.

Accurate identification of the patient’s heart problem by the doctors helped to save his life.  If the pseudo-capsule had been mistakenly detected as a mediastinal tumor, followed by conducting an operation to remove the so-called ‘tumour’, the patient would have died due to a rupture of the pseudocapsule triggering severe hemorrhage or thromboembolism.

After the successful operation, the male patient gradually recovered his health, and he has now been discharged from the hospital.