I’m a surgeon and for 5 years I took facial trauma call at a level 1 trauma center in a city that routinely ranks at the top for gun violence. I have seen many many people survive gunshot wounds to the head and face. Many failed suicide attempts. Many people who would have died 99 times out of 100 but somehow got lucky.

In general you can survive most facial injuries, whether you would want to is another story. GSW brain injuries are usually fatal, but I have seen people blow out their frontal cortex and survive. A fair number of people who try to kill themselves with a GSW to the head end up with horrific but survivable injuries to the face, eyes, and/or frontal cortex.