title: An unusual place to find a lost needle in laparoscopic surgery.
abstract: Losing a needle during laparoscopic surgery is an uncommon but potentially challenging scenario for the surgeon. The prolonged operative time to search for a small retained foreign body such as a needle can cause clinical and medicolegal complications. As a result, it is considered a 'never event'. This report describes a case of a lost needle during a laparoscopic prostatectomy, when a meticulous and systematic search for the foreign body was initiated and completed with the use of x-rays, only to find it in an unusual place.
authors.affiliation: Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, UK.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al Jaafari
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Christofides
authors.forename: C R W
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Beatty
mesh_terms: D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009339:Needles; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation