Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 May 10;15(5):e38822.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.38822. eCollection 2023 May.

Successful Management of a Broken Spinal Needle During Difficult Spinal Anesthesia: A Case Report

Thamer H Alsharif  1 , Abdulkarim T Alanazi  1 , Ahmed Deif  2 , Hesham Aboueleneein  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Successful Management of a Broken Spinal Needle During Difficult Spinal Anesthesia: A Case Report

Thamer H Alsharif et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Spinal anesthesia is the most common mode of anesthesia utilized during caesarian sections worldwide. Despite its many advantages over general anesthesia in the pregnant cohort, uncommon and even catastrophic complications could occur due to patient-related, equipment-related, and procedure-related complications. One such uncommon event of a broken spinal needle during failed spinal anesthesia for a caesarian section and subsequent successful management is described here.

Keywords: broken needle; epidural anesthesia; obstetrical anesthesia; spinal anesthesia; spinal needle breakage.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Lumbar spine X-ray lateral view showing needle tip opposite T12-L1
Figure 2
Figure 2. CT scan thoraco-lumbar spine axial and sagittal views show the broken needle tip at the left intervertebral foramen between T12-L1
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Olawin MA, Das MJ. Treasure Island: StatPearls Publishing; 2022. Spinal Anesthesia. - PubMed
    1. Comparison of the effects of intrathecal fentanyl and meperidine on shivering after cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. Han WJ, Kang SH, Choi KS, Park JS, Park JH, Lim HT. https://ekja.org/journal/view.php?number=6181 Kor Jr Anes. 2007
    1. Transient neurologic symptoms (TNS) following spinal anaesthesia with lidocaine versus other local anaesthetics. Zaric D, Pace NL. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009:0. - PubMed
    1. Postdural puncture headache and spinal needle design. Metaanalyses. Halpern S, Preston R. Anesthesiology. 1994;81:1376–1383. - PubMed
    1. World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists: Broken spinal needle. [ Mar; 2023 ]. 2018. https://resources.wfsahq.org/atotw/broken-spinal-needle/ https://resources.wfsahq.org/atotw/broken-spinal-needle/

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources