Bullet Wound

      This young man from the Horn of Africa is trying to close his mouth.  But it fixated in this position.  He was riding in a bus back home a week previous when he was hijacked.  Gunshots were heard and he tried to duck but it was too late.  A bullet entered his right cheek and proceed through his right mandible, into the floor of the mouth, into the left mandible, and then out the left cheek.  

        You can see the shattered aftermath and defects of his mandible after this type of trauma.   The patient was very matter-of-fact about this type of violence, neither scared nor surprised about how or where this shooting happened.  As you can imagine if the bullet had entered his brain, brain stem, or neck he would likely be dead or paralyzed.