Bullet removed 39 years after war

20.APR.07

Doctors have removed a bullet from the heart of a Vietnamese soldier 39 years after he was shot by US troops.

Le Dinh Hung, 60, is said to be recovering well after surgery in Hanoi to remove the 2.5cm (1 inch) bullet and replace a damaged heart valve.{{more}}

Dr Nguyen Sinh Hien said it was the strangest case he had ever seen, while Mr Hung said he was “lucky to survive”.

The former communist soldier was shot during a battle in Quang Tri province in 1968, during the Vietnam War.

Dr Hien added: “Normally a person with a bullet in his heart would die immediately if they didn’t have surgery right away.”

The operation lasted three hours and afterwards Mr Hung said the constant pain he had lived with for nearly four decades had eased.

He said: “I was very lucky to survive. People believe in their fate and I do too.”