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Arch Neurol. 2004;61:1608.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A 70-year-old man was referred to our institution for evaluation of an acupuncture needle that had been accidentally broken 3 weeks earlier. The neurological examinations revealed no sensory or motor disturbances. A plain x-ray film and a computed tomographic (CT) scan (Figure 1) showed a needle in the cervical spinal cord penetrating the medulla oblongata. A reconstructed 3-dimensional CT scan using a 4-channel multidetector CT scanner (Aquillion; Toshiba, Japan) demonstrated the needle from the right caudal to the left cranial at the level of the foramen magnum (Figure 2). Because of treatment-related morbidity and mortality, surgical removal was not performed. At the 1-year follow-up, the patient developed increased left facial paresthesia. After consulting with a neurosurgeon, he decided not to undergo surgical removal of the needle because of treatment-related morbidity and mortality.

Figure appears in full text version. Figure 1. Non–contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scan revealing the acupuncture needle in the spinal canal . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Yukihiro Hama, MD; Tatsumi Kaji, MD