Retained Lumbar Intradiscal Surgical Knife Blade Retrieved Via Extended Extraforaminal Approach: Case Report and Review

During lumbar discectomy, the surgical knife might be broken and embedded deeply in the disc space. In some cases, it may be impossible to remove the broken blade during the initial surgery despite allocating several hours for this purpose, thus require a subsequent surgical session. However, the eventual retrieval of the broken scalpel during a second surgical encounter can be a very daunting challenge.

L4-L5 discectomy in a young boy was complicated with intradiscal retained broken surgical knife blade. The broken blade was successfully retrieved in another session via extended extraforaminal approach.

The occurrence of intradiscal retained broken scalpel has been rarely discussed within the medical literature. There exist a wide variety of different approaches used for such a needed retrieval. The extended extraforaminal corridor has yet to be described within the context of medical journalism.