Five Things You May Not Know About the Brain/System "Don't Miss"
A patient who thought he was suffering from an aneurysm discovered that it was something completely different.
Scans at the hospital where he arrived revealed a "golden-colored" and "slightly pointed" needle half a centimeter long that entered an artery inside the 74-year-old man's brain.
This caused internal bleeding that left him with memory problems, which landed him in the hospital.
His family said the needle must have been there for two decades because they could only remember him getting acupuncture in the early 2000s for an ongoing migraine he suffered from.
The needle was removed through surgery that included cutting the skull.
The man, from Sichuan, China, survived the operation but died three weeks later after suffering a lung infection.
The case was revealed in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.
In the mind of a 74-year-old man, the amazing thing that had been hidden there for 20 years was discovered/official website, Journal of Medical Case Reports.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical practice that involves inserting hundreds of tiny needles into specific points on the body to stimulate energy, known as chi.
The method can help relieve pain, reduce stress and even aid in the recovery of the joints by helping to stimulate nerves and blood flow in the areas receiving the treatment.
The tiny needle inside the man was found in an artery that runs through the brain behind the right eye, and it apparently got there after it broke during an acupuncture treatment and was then carried into the artery behind the eye.
It is not clear what led to the rupture, but it could be related to a fall, a sharp blow to the head or due to displacement of the location of the needle in the skull.
In any case, the man was rushed to the hospital an hour after his memory problems appeared, when the family first feared he was suffering from an aneurysm.
But as mentioned, scans revealed the needle in his brain and caused bleeding.
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In the mind of a 74-year-old man, the amazing thing that had been hidden there for 20 years was discovered/official website, Journal of Medical Case Reports.
To remove the needle, doctors first had to cut out part of his skull - in a procedure called a craniotomy.
They then cut through the brain's thick outer lining, and used a surgical microscope to navigate through the brain to the needle—while avoiding damage to arteries and vital structures.
The needle was then removed, and the ruptured blood vessel was closed with a very small metal clip.
After the operation, the man initially recovered well.
But then he developed pneumonia while in hospital - and died three weeks after the operation.
Doctors said this case was the first documented in the medical literature of a person with a pseudoaneurysm (fake aneurysm) caused by an acupuncture needle.
Previous cases have been caused by infections that damage the arteries in the brain, as well as head trauma - or blunt force trauma to the head.
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