Risoleta Tolentino Neves University Hospital Trauma Center - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. ljrezende@yahoo.com.br.
Abstract
ABSTRACT: We present the case of a patient who sustained a penetrating injury to the chest caused by an attenuated energy rubber bullet and review the literature on thoracic injuries caused by plastic and rubber "less-lethal" munitions. The patient of this report underwent a right thoracotomy to extract the projectile as well as a wedge resection of the injured lung parenchyma. This case demonstrates that even supposedly safe riot control munition fired at close range, at the torso, can provoke serious injury. Therefore a thorough investigation and close clinical supervision are justified.