is it boLLocks?

Film Buff investigates the facts behind outlandish movie plots.

This monTh

Sicario 2’S cheeky gunShot wound

q In Sicario 2, Benicio Del Toro takes a bullet to the head in a cartel assassination, but miraculously survives with wounds through both cheeks. A likely scenario or simply loco? a dr. cath SellingS, specialTy docToR in emeRgency medicine Being shot in the face isn’t a good thing, but both entry and exit wounds are pretty neat and fairly low in face, likely below the maxilla (cheek bone). In terms of chunky vasculature, there’s not a huge amount to worry about in this region. Blood loss looks about 200ml, which seems pretty accurate. I wouldn’t expect him to lose a significant amount from this kind of wound. Certainly not enough to kill him.

Looking at the site of entry and exit, however, this fella is likely to have some dental and, potentially, tongue damage. It’s going to hurt – the face is pretty sensitive – while blood plus muddy sand plus fiddling around with the wound is a surefire recipe for secondary infection. This may make him feel poorly as fever, sweats, lethargy and dizziness set in. He’s going to need a lovely soft diet for a while!

In terms of emergency care, he’ll need a trauma review, imaging (probably CT to establish extent of injuries), a chest X-ray to look for tooth fragments, careful cleaning and debriding (cutting away dead or non-viable tissue) of wounds, tetanus immunisation, prophylactic antibiotics, pain relief and an excellent maxillofacial surgeon to put him back together again. With access to all that, he should heal nicely.