Acute Urinary Retention Due to Late Migration of a Retained Bullet to the Urethral Meatus.

ABSTRACT

Urethral obstruction due to retained bullets migrating into the genitourinary system has rarely been reported. The literature describes 2 main methods of retained bullet removal from the genitourinary system (1) spontaneous expulsion during voiding and (2) manual extraction due to urethral obstruction causing acute urinary retention. We present a case in which a 21-year-old man presented with acute urinary retention 3 years after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen. A retained bullet eroded through the bladder wall, migrated through the bladder and urethra, and eventually became lodged in the external urethral meatus, causing obstruction and urinary retention.