Abstract
An intrathoracic aberrant needle is usually recognized incidentally as a foreign body that has penetrated from the outside accidentally. It should be surgically removed as soon as possible to avoid the risk of pneumothorax, pyothorax, or main vessel injury. A-63-year-old man under preoperative examination for lumbar disc herniation was referred to us with an abnormal needle-shaped shadow on a chest radiograph and computed tomography (CT) without any symptoms. He had the same shadow pointed out 25 years ago. However, he left it without any observation or treatment. CT demonstrated an aberrant needle in S3 of the right lung and the anterior mediastinum. We performed video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) with fluoroscopy. We removed the needle with en-block resection of pulmonary partial resection and dissection of the mediastinal fat tissue. The needle was fragile due to rust in the lung and anterior mediastinal tissue. Fluoroscopy during the operation was useful to confirm the location of the foreign body and remove it without leaving a residual fragment.
