Should the Surgical Instrument Parts That Are Broken and Remain in the Distance of the Disc Be Removed? Should It Be Quit? A Case Report

Abstract

Background and Aim: Lumbar posterior open microdiscectomy is a procedure that is widely used to treat lumbar disc diseases. These operations have a low risk of complications. It is unusual for the tool to break and remain in the intervertebral space during surgery. In this situation, we wanted to provide a set of suggestions based on our research of the literature on pituitary forceps blade fractures and the procedure for removing the fractured portion from the disc space during lumbar posterior open microdiscectomy surgery. Case Presentation: 10 days ago, a 37-year-old female patient presented to our clinic complaining of low back pain, left leg pain, and left foot weakness. A diagnosis of lumbar disc herniation necessitating surgery was obtained following neurological and radiographic examinations. The patient was advised to have surgery. The patient had standard lumbar microdiscectomy surgery. However, the tip of the pituitary forceps was broken during disc removal and remained in the L5-S1 disc space. The scope confirmed that the alien object was in space. After the evaluation, it was decided to remove the piece of instrument that was broken and remained in the disc space. The broken surgical handpiece was removed and documented under fluoroscopy. Additionally, it was forwarded to the technical unit for examination. Conclusion: A few case reports in the literature describe a surgical tool piece fracture that remained in the disc distance of the lumbar microdiscectomy. Complication management may be time-consuming and risky. Such a complication should be addressed and resolved appropriately because this situation might have detrimental terms on surgical risks and the legal procedure.