Surgery can be damaging to 15-year-old victim of shooting

Doctors from the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC) on Sunday said a surgery could be more damaging to the 15-year-old girl reportedly hit in a shooting incident while watching a fireworks display on the evening of Dec. 31.

JRRMC director Dr. Emmanuel Montaña said the victim, Emmelyn Villanueva, suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

He said the victim was hit on the lower back of the head.

“Hindi po lumusot ‘yung bala (The bullet did not go through her head). It hit the occipital area and crossed from right to the left side of the brain,” Montaña said at a press conference.

“We cannot perform an operation [because] it could be more damaging to the patient,” Montaña added.

The victim is in deep coma as of now, according to Montaña. He said using the Glasgow coma scale, a neurological scale to assess the level of consciousness after head injury with 15 points being the highest, Villanueva is currently at number 4.

He added that they also could not determine what type of bullet hit her because even a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test could not provide a clear view of the bullet.

“We are decompressing the brain. She is also in ventilator because of difficulty in breathing. We also gave her the necessary antitetanus shots and gave her something to stop the swelling of the brain,” he added.

If the victim’s condition improves, according to him, they can push for the surgery. Due to the sensitivity of the condition, however, they are more likely not to remove the bullet.

The victim was initially rushed to Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon before being taken to JRRMC.

District director Senior Supt. Roberto Fajardo, meanwhile, clarified that the victim was hit in a shooting incident and not by a stray bullet.