A case ingesting 61 sewing needles

A 20-year-old female with a history of mental retardation and obsessive-compulsive disorder ate meals with sewing needles for about 10 days in an effort to commit suicide. She was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. Abdominal X-ray showed several needles in the abdomen...

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Published inNihon Rinsho Geka Gakkai Zasshi (Journal of Japan Surgical Association) Vol. 72; no. 3; pp. 822 - 825
Main Authors SUGANO, Kenji, MAEDA, Kiyoshi, NODA, Eiji, INOUE, Toru, NAGAHARA, Hisashi, HIRAKAWA, Kosei
Format Journal Article
LanguageJapanese
Published Japan Surgical Association 2011
Subjects
endoscopic procedure
laparoscopic surgery
needles
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Summary:A 20-year-old female with a history of mental retardation and obsessive-compulsive disorder ate meals with sewing needles for about 10 days in an effort to commit suicide. She was admitted to our hospital with a chief complaint of abdominal pain. Abdominal X-ray showed several needles in the abdomen. Although numerous needles were recognized throughout the entire digestive tract on a CT scan, neither free air nor symptoms of peritonitis were found. We retrieved 21 needles from the stomach using a gastrointestinal scope. High fever and right lower abdominal pain occurred on hospital day, Moreover, numerous needles remained in the cecum, descending colon and rectum. Therefore, we performed surgery. First, needles in the descending colon through rectum were retrieved by a colonoscopic procedure. Then the remaining needles were retrieved by laparoscopic surgery. In total, 31 needles were removed during these. Nine needles were excreted with defecation before surgery. We herein describe a case who ingested 61 needles which were successfully removed employing an endoscopic procedure and laparoscopic surgery.
ISSN:1345-2843
1882-5133
DOI:10.3919/jjsa.72.822