A Canadian woman's life was saved by her breast implant, which stopped a stray bullet from piercing her heart. The 30-year-old unidentified woman was walking down the street when she was shot, Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.

The women recalled feeling "heat and pain" and seeing blood but despite the injury, she was able to take herself to a local emergency room. Surgeons at the McLean Clinic in Mississauga, Ontario, were surprised to find that the bullet had been deflected from her heart and lay embedded beneath her right breast. Her only injury was a fractured rib.

The woman's left breast implant showed a "bullet tract" where the bullet entered. Her right implant was flipped upside down and the dome was damaged. Medical personnel concluded that the woman's life was "saved by deflection of the bullet by her silicone implants." They said this incident was the "first of its kind."

The case was recorded in the journal Plastic Surgery. Authors noted that there are "surprisingly few cases of breast implants ruptured due to firearm injury."

They recommended "removal of the implants after firearm-related injury and management of the implant pocket as potentially contaminated."

The shooter remains unknown and the gun which fired the bullet was not recovered but authorities are hoping the bullet can assist with investigations.