A woman in Somalia had to undergo emergency surgery after getting shot accidentally in the clitoris while relaxing at home.
A report detailing her accidental piercing was published recently in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first wayward bullet injury penetrating the vulvar area [the outer part of the female genitals] with a retained bullet in the clitoris,” study authors wrote.
According to the study, the 24-year-old unnamed patient had been relaxing at home, when all of a sudden, a stray bullet came through her ceiling and struck her in the nether regions.
The alarmed woman reported to the Erdoğan Hospital in Mogadishu, where a CT scan revealed that the errant lead pellet had lodged itself inside her clitoris. As far as the study authors knew, this was the first case of its kind.
“We thought it to be rare and interesting,” they wrote of the unfortunate body shot, which thankfully struck her at a low velocity or her health could’ve been in jeopardy.
Surgeons placed the patient under local anesthesia and removed the projectile from her private parts.
Thankfully, she didn’t suffer any complications following the lead-ectomy, and was discharged the following day in “in good condition.”
At a follow-up appointment a month later, doctors determined that the woman was still in good health.
Study authors report that cases of non-pregnancy-related “vulvic trauma” are extremely rare and often result from sports, including straddle injuries, burns, animal/human bites and sexual assault.
Meanwhile, gunshot injuries down south are typically seen in “battlefield trauma or large urban areas with criminal implications.”
“Tired bullet injuries are caused by low-velocity injuries, commonly seen in residential areas in war-torn countries such as Somalia,” the study authors write.
This isn’t the first time an unlikely object has ended up down under, however.
Last year, a midwife revealed that she extracted a treasure trove of bizarre items from women’s nether regions, including false nails, pen lids and even bikini bottoms.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, a gynecologist in Honduras examine a patient’s vagina to find a cockroach lurking inside.