Glad you survived even if lots of blood leaked. You'll make new blood. I agree the piece left in your cheek should be removed. The doc who worked on you was probably needing to move on.

I had a friend blow up his new 8-shot 627 about 20 yrs. ago with TiteGroup. He was convinced he didn't double charge. He blamed the gun and sent it back. S&W would NOT sell him another 627 but did sell him a 625 at a good price.

Early in my handloading career I produced about 500 rounds of 45ACP with 200gr LSWCs and Win 231. I went to the range and had a squib about every third round. I loaded on a Dillon 550 and the powder measure malfunctioned . I tried weighing the rounds and quickly learned the powder charge was so small variations in bullets and brass prevented me from solving the problem. Eventually, I just pounded every round apart with a bullet puller.

I am a devout believer in the idea of using smaller brass if you want to shoot poofy loads in your magnum guns.

__________________
Bob.
SWCA 1821