In Italy, doctors removed a metal part of a bicycle brake from the body of a teenager, which had remained there for about three years. Specialists from the Bambino Gesù children’s hospital in Palidoro spoke about an unusual case.
The boy was injured when he was ten years old when he fell from his bicycle. The brake lever, approximately 5.5 centimeters long, passed through a small wound on the side and ended up in the lumbar region. The teenager did not notice the foreign object: he continued to play sports and did not experience noticeable discomfort.
Three years later, his right leg began to hurt, and later discomfort appeared in the other limb. Initial neurological examinations did not reveal obvious disorders. However, an x-ray showed that there was a curved metal object near the lumbar spine.
A CT scan helped determine its exact position: the lever was located near a nerve root. During the time spent in the body, a shell of fibrous tissue formed around it.
The surgical intervention lasted about three hours. To remove the object without damaging the nerve, doctors had to carefully separate the nerve root and surrounding adhesions from it. During the operation, the state of the nerve structures was monitored using special neurophysiological equipment.
The recovery was uneventful: the teenager got out of bed the next morning and was discharged a few days later. A follow-up examination did not reveal any neurological disorders in him.
About the Author
