In movies taking a bullet out of a wound and then putting a bandage on the wound seems to magically cure the wound. Is that all you really need to do?

Question

In movies, after someone is shot they are in great pain or even crippled until someone pulls the bullet out. Once the bullet is plucked out and dramatically dropped into a bowl, the victim seems to be completely fine. Is the bullet being in the wound really the biggest problem? Is it preventing the wound from closing somehow?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Most of that is just movie silliness. Sure, the bullet may add to the pain (such as by scraping against bone and nerves), and it may aid the would in closing/healing, but many people literally go through their lives with bullets still inside their bodies. In fact, sometimes, removing the bullet can actually cause additional harm–the bullet may be the only thing preventing the victim from bleeding out, and removing the bullet could lead to death.

The biggest problem that films rarely mention is the risk of infection. Simply removing the bullet and sewing the wound shut, without properly getting out every last bit of debris and killing any bacteria inside, can lead to massive damage or death from a developing infection.