Risks and Causes of Cervical Cord and Medulla Oblongata Injuries Due to Acupuncture

Background: Acupuncture has become one of the most popular alternative medicines in the world today. Some acupuncturists still intentionally embed entire needles deep in the tissue for treatments, and some patients stick needles into their own bodies on their own.

Case Description: Surgical removal of an accidentally broken acupuncture needle due to self-acupuncture that was embedded in the medulla oblongata and cerebellum was performed. The broken needle migrated further into the brain in a few days. Contrary to expectation, it was extremely laborious to find the needle, which turned out to be completely embedded in the brain. No postoperative complications developed. The patient denied any symptoms and was subsequently discharged.

Results: Previously reported cases of 25 patients, in addition to our patient, who suffered from cervical or brain injuries due to acupuncture needles, were retrospectively studied. Embedded needles were the most frequent cause of the injuries and comprised 15 patients (57.7%). Accidentally broken needles came in second, comprising 11 patients (42.3%). Five cases (19.2%) were attributed to self-acupuncture. Sixteen (61.5%) patients developed symptoms more than 30 days after the accident. Twenty-three (88.5%) patients complained of sensory deficits, whereas 11 (42.3%) presented with motor weakness. Surgical removals were performed in 21 patients (80.8%), and 10 patients showed signs of recovery. On the other hand, no patients showed improvements in conservatively treated cases.

Conclusions: Embedded needles in the brain should be urgently removed if possible. Both embedded needle acupuncture and self-acupuncture are extremely dangerous and hazardous to health.