Apr 27, 2010

Teenage gunshot victim escapes with a scar after risky surgery

The large scar over his heart is the only reminder 17-year-old Dimitrios Philliou has of his brush with death. And even that can be covered up with silicone gel sheeting.

In November of 2008, Philliou was showing off a handgun he had found to some friends in his basement. Thinking the gun was jammed because he couldn't get it to fire, one of his friends became careless and accidentally shot the young boy.

The bullet pierced Philliou's aorta, a fatal injury 85 percent of the time. When he arrived in the operating room, doctors were amazed he hadn't bled to death yet.

The bullet punctured the aorta and a smaller vein near it. Miraculously, the blood from the aorta leaked out of the first hole and into the second, buying Philliou precious time.

The normal routine would be risky open heart surgery, which is deadly in itself. With little time to act, the surgeons instead opted to snake a stent all the way up from the boy's leg, effectively plugging the hole without cutting open the chest.

The quick thinking saved his life. Closing the bullet hole left him with a lengthy scar down his chest, now the only distinguishing feature of the teenage boy.

The use of silicone-based scar treatment products can reduce the visibility of surgery scars like Philliou's.ADNFCR-3015-ID-19746019-ADNFCR

 

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