Intraoperative migration of a nail from the left B10b to the main bronchus.
OBJECTIVE
We report a rare case in which an intrapulmonary foreign body underwent a large intraoperative migration.


METHODS
A 57-year-old man with an intrapulmonary nail in the left S(10) was admitted into our hospital. Since the removal by a flexible bronchoscopy was unsuccessful, a thoracotomy was performed.


RESULTS
Preoperative chest roentgenograms and a bronchoscopy after an endotracheal intubation confirmed that the nail had not migrated. During the operation, however, the nail moved from the periphery of B(10)b to the main bronchus.


CONCLUSIONS
It is mandatory to confirm the precise location of a foreign body even during an operation to avoid unnecessary pulmonary resections.
Division of Thoracic Surgery, Matsue Red Cross Hospital, 200 Horomachi, Matsue, Shimane 690-8506, Japan.
Ryutaro
R
Kikuchi
Noritaka
N
Isowa
Hirokazu
H
Tokuyasu
Yuji
Y
Kawasaki
D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007431:Intraoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008168:Lung; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed