ORCID

0009-0006-4634-6295 (Kouhestani)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.1155/crop/6699156

Publication Title

Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine

Volume

2026

Pages

6699156

Abstract

This is a case report of a 31-year-old female who sustained a gunshot wound to the left orbit, resulting in a ruptured globe and retained bullet fragments extending into the frontal lobe. The patient underwent enucleation without orbital implant, and no metallic fragments were recovered intraoperatively. Three months later, she returned with bloody conjunctival discharge. Examination revealed a 1.25-cm copper-colored metallic bullet jacket fragment spontaneously protruding through the conjunctiva. Serial CT imaging confirmed anterior and inferior migration of the bullet fragment over time, with a total migration distance of 32.9 mm through the orbit. The shrapnel was removed in clinic without complication. This case highlights the unpredictable behavior of retained foreign bodies and underscores the importance of serial imaging and long-term surveillance in patients with projectile injuries involving the orbit and brain.

Rights

© 2026 Maxwell A. Levi et al.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Data Availability

Article states: "All data produced or examined in this study are provided within this article. Additional information may be requested from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."

Original Publication Citation

Levi, M. A., Kouhestani, M. G., Disandro, G., & Netland, P. A. (2026). Migration of copper bullet fragment through the orbit and conjunctiva. Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine, 2026, Article 6699156. https://doi.org/10.1155/crop/6699156

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