A Case of an Intrapulmonary Aberrant Needle Removed by Segmentectomy with the Assistance of X-ray Fluoroscopy

Abstract

A 30-year-old man with a history of schizophrenia was referred to us for surgery to remove a sewing needle he had stuck into his chest for self-harm four years earlier. Chest CT showed the needle was located in the left lung lingual area. We speculated that the needle had likely rusted and become fragile since it remained in the body for a long time. Therefore, we performed lingual segmentectomy instead of simple extraction to avoid needle breakage during the surgery. The resected specimen revealed that the needle became rusty and firmly adhered to the lung parenchyma, so it was difficult to simply pull it out of the lung. Intraoperative X-ray fluoroscopy was useful for confirming the absence of residual needle fragment as well as for determining the resection line.