Management of a Broken or Lost Needle during Laparoscopic Surgery

Laparoscopic techniques have evolved from predominantly diagnostic to extensive operative procedures. Surgical techniques traditionally performed in an open fashion are being conducted laparoscopically with increasing frequency. With these developments, the indications for laparoscopic suturing have increased accordingly. Caution is required to avoid breaking or losing a needle during extracorporeal suturing. We describe the breakage and subsequent recovery of 1.5 mm segments of surgical needles during a laparoscopic myomectomy and a total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Most current research has focused on preventative and detection strategies for lost needles; however, there are no known methods of completely preventing occurrences of these unforeseen events. In this paper, we discuss a literature review of needles lost during laparoscopic surgery.