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.