Use of a pacemaker magnet to remove a broken suture needle during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Open Access
- 1 October 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Surgical Case Reports
- Vol. 2021 (10), rjab444
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jscr/rjab444
Abstract
Prompt removal of unintended surgical foreign bodies is essential for prevention of adverse consequences of retained surgical foreign bodies postop. Current practices utilizing radiographic images in combination with visual inspection and palpation to remove foreign bodies can lead to increased surgical times and tissue damage. A suture needle fragment broke off during a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed on a morbidly obese adult female. After being unable to retrieve the fragment by increasing the midline incision by ~7 cm and undergoing an additional ~1 of intraoperative time, a pacemaker magnet wrapped in sterilized plastic was able to instantaneously remove the shard. Techniques utilizing magnetism could be researched and developed for the removal of surgical foreign bodies both intraoperatively and postop.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- Use of a Defibrillator Magnet to Extract Multiple Ingested Sharp Iron Objects from the Stomach at LaparotomySpartan Medical Research Journal, 2016
- Retained surgical items: Building on cumulative experienceInternational Journal of Academic Medicine, 2016
- Laparoscopic Needle-Retrieval Device for Improving Quality of Care in Minimally Invasive SurgeryJournal of the American College of Surgeons, 2013
- Retained Surgical Foreign Bodies: A Comprehensive Review of Risks and Preventive StrategiesScandinavian Journal of Surgery, 2009