Popliteal artery embolism of bullet after abdominal gunshot wound.

Bullet embolism to the peripheral arterial system is a rare phenomenon which frequently results in misdiagnosis due to lack of early symptoms. Embolisms can go to either arterial or venous systems with common sites of injury including the left ventricle, pulmonary vein, thoracic and abdominal aorta and peripheral arteries. Herein we present a case of a 19 year old patient with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso with a bullet embolism to the left popliteal artery necessitating embolectomy. This subsequently led to diagnosis and repair of an abdominal aortic psuedoaneurysm not clearly evident on initial imaging.

Aortic air embolus following pulmonary tumor radiofrequency ablation.

Aortic air embolism following a computed tomography (CT) guided percutaneous transthoracic procedure is a rare occurrence, but one that can have dire consequences. We present a case of a 48-year old female diagnosed with aortic air embolism during percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of a pulmonary mass. A large amount of intra-aortic air can be seen on the CT images just before the patient suffered acute cardiac arrest. Although this is a rare occurrence, recognition and management of this complication is important for physicians who perform any percutaneous transthoracic procedures.