Migrating sewing needle in the cervical vertebral canal in a dog

Abstract

An eight‐month‐old female labrador retriever was evaluated for progressive cervical hyperaesthesia after being seen coughing, close to a broken sewing kit two weeks prior to presentation. Physical examination showed cervical hyperaesthesia and mild proprioceptive deficits in the right thoracic and pelvic limbs. CT imaging of the neck showed a thin metallic foreign body (sewing needle) going in a ventrodorsal direction through the vertebral canal at the atlanto‐occipital junction. A ventral midline approach to the larynx, with dissection along the right side of the larynx was performed to gain access to its dorsal aspect. The exposed needle was grasped with Mosquito forceps, and removed in its entirety. Marked clinical improvement was observed the day after surgery. In a follow‐up telephone conversation four months after surgery, the owner reported a complete recovery of the patient, with return to normal activities.

Migration of a sewing needle foreign body into the brainstem of a cat

“…20 In another report, an 8-month-old Labrador Retriever gained access to a sewing kit, and was later found to have a sewing needle in its cervical vertebral canal. 21 In that case, the needle was removed and the dog made a full recovery. Most reported cases of sewing needle ingestion in veterinary medicine have been in cats, possibly because sewing needles are often attached to a length of thread, to which cats are drawn.…”

Surgical removal of an intramedullary chopstick fragment penetrating the spinal cord in a cat

“…The second pathway, more frequently found in companion animals, might be by accidental inhalation or ingestion and migration through some point of the alimentary canal. In previous studies, grass awn, wooden sticks, and sewing needle migration to the CNS or cervical spinal cord have been reported [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 ]. In this case, the highly suggestive route taken by the foreign body was from the oropharynx to the atlanto-occipital junction, bypassing the esophagus.…”

“…Neurological signs related to foreign bodies in the vertebral canal can result from direct penetration of the spinal cord by a foreign material or any space-occupying lesions, such as hemorrhage or granuloma formation secondary to the foreign material [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. In particular, these foreign bodies are likely to migrate from the gastrointestinal tract, and inflammatory reactions by infection can lead to significant clinical signs [ 5 ]. Neurological signs may vary from neck pain to quadriparesis, depending on many factors, such as location or size of the foreign body.…”

“…Owing to the radiolucency of non-metallic foreign bodies, diagnosis of foreign bodies, such as wooden material, is challenging using conventional radiography. Therefore, advanced imaging devices such as CT or MRI might directly visualize non-metallic foreign bodies, assess the extent of spinal cord pathology, and evaluate the secondary changes in the surrounding tissues [ 5 , 9 , 11 , 13 ]. Generally, metallic foreign bodies are known to cause hardening of beams and hypoattenuation of artifacts in the tissues around foreign materials, as observed in CT scans [ 4 ].…”

“…However, in the case reported here, considering the shape of the foreign body narrowing toward the dorsal side, a ventral approach was undertaken to minimize additional damage to the spinal cord parenchyma during removal of the foreign body. To preserve the neurovascular structure, such as the carotid artery, laryngeal nerve, internal jugular vein, and vagosympathetic trunk, which are crucial for survival [ 5 ], special care was taken during the surgery. No major postoperative complications were observed.…”