Intracerebral foreign body: A needle in a dog's brain

Abstract

An 8-year-old Maltese dog was referred for surgery due to an intracranial foreign body. The dog had been hit by a car and had experienced three generalised tonic-clonic seizures. Examination by computed tomography revealed an intracranial metallic object oriented in a vertical direction. The ventral end protruded by 2 mm, in close proximity to the temporomandibular joint. Furthermore, moderate bilateral ventricular dilatation was observed. During the surgery, object removal was initially attempted via the oral cavity, but due to deep coverage by the neighbouring tissues, a rostrotentorial craniotomy was subsequently chosen to remove the foreign body from the brain. The foreign body was identified as a sewing needle. Postoperative computed tomography revealed that the intracranial part of the needle had been removed completely, leaving only the extracranial part, which had become detached from the rest of the needle. Antiepileptic drugs have been continued postoperatively, and the dog is currently symptom-free.