VN woman lives with 3 bomb fragments in shoulder for over 50 years
An elderly woman in Vietnam has recovered from surgery to remove three bomb fragments that had lain in her left shoulder for more than three decades.
Doctor Pham Van Phuong from the thoracic department of Can Tho General Hospital said on March 15 that surgeons had succeeded in removing three bomb fragments stuck in the left shoulder of 70-year-old woman Ha Thi Bay of Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City.
A scan prior to surgery revealed bomb shrapnel pieces of 4, 6, and 10 millimeters respectively, situated around the patient’s left shoulder’s joint.
Bay’s family said that she had lived with the fragments since she was 17 years old after a bomb went off during a revolution she was participating in.
The three fragments sank deep into her flesh, and while the external wounds healed, Bay always felt pain when she moved her left shoulder.
She went to several hospitals for treatment but doctors suggested that the removal not be carried out, so as not to cause any complications.
It was not until her left shoulder experienced partial paralysis that Bay insisted on conducting the surgery in the city’s general hospital to remove the shrapnel, her family said.
After multiple consultations and examinations, doctors decided to carry out the operation on March 15.
After one hour, the bomb fragments were successfully pulled out of her body.
