An Albanian woman lived for a dozen years with a bullet lodged below her cheekbone without noticing it, news agency ATA has reported.

Mrike Rrucaj was sleeping when a bullet flew into her house in 1997, the news agency reported, at a time when anarchy was rife in Albania following protests against fraudulent pyramid schemes.

Many took up arms to regain their savings in an armed rebellion in which more than 2,000 were killed.

"I was covered in blood and my husband took me to the emergency where there were many people injured," Ms Rrucaj recalled of the incident.

"But the doctor told me that the bullet came out and cleaned the wound."

Only recently did Ms Rrucaj begin experiencing headaches, prompting her to seek medical help.

After an X-ray showed the bullet in her jaw area, she had surgery to remove it.

- AFP