Clinical Forensic Evidence in Gunshot Wounds through Anesthesia and Surgical Procedures: A Case Report

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Clinical forensic evidence of live victims with gunshot wounds can be supported by anesthesia and surgical procedures. Gunshot wounds are a complex and traumatic type of wound that are commonly found in forensic practice, most of which can cause death. Injuries to gunshot wounds are caused by the penetration of a projectile into the body that is ejected from the barrel of a gun due to the burning of gunpowder from the bullet. Using anesthetic procedures and thoracic surgery can help prove the victim's gunshot wound. Medical evidence in the form of bullet projectiles found on the victim's body can be used as legal evidence. So it can be said that anesthesia and thoracic surgery procedures can be one of the modalities of clinical forensic examination in proving the existence of a criminal event.   CASE REPORT: The method of this study was a case report. A 58-year-old male victim was shot in the left back. Forensic examination of the victim showed a gunshot wound to the left side of the back about the 11th thoracic vertebra, round or oval in shape, accompanied by seams of abrasions around the wound, no seams of tattoos, soot or fire were found and not accompanied by a gunshot wound. Based on the results of the radiographic examination of the posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs, two cylindrical radio-opaque images were found in the left hemithorax. During anesthesia and thoracic surgery, a foreign body was found in the left thoracic wall region, as well as lacerations in the left inferior lobe of the lung. Clinical forensic evidence in gunshot wounds has been successfully carried out using anesthesia and surgical procedures. The evidence was also reviewed from the radiological examination which proved the existence of bullet projectiles by virtual imaging.   CONCLUSION: Clinical forensic evidence of course continues to evolve in accordance with advances in medical technology. The better the proof method, the easier it is to find the desired evidence. Anesthesia and surgical procedures can be used as an alternative to forensic evidence in clinical cases.