• Jeffrey C Teixeira, Lingga Adidharma, George L Coppit, and Wayne Cardoni.
• Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20889, USA.
• Mil Med. 2021 Feb 26; 186 (3-4): e454-e456.

AbstractAccidental broken dental needles during dental blocks have become a rare occurrence but still occur. Although the treatment for such occurrence is controversial, an increasing body of literature demonstrates that migration of such needles is possible. In this case, we report on a 48-year-old male with migration of a broken dental needle from an inferior alveolar block. Over the course of 2 years, we demonstrated radiological documentation of the course of migration with penetration of the internal jugular vein at the jugular foramen which was subsequently successfully retrieved through a transcervical approach without neurovascular injury. This case is unique given the location of migration to the skull base as well as radiologically documented time course. Furthermore, it highlights the need for prompt retrieval of broken dental needles given the high potential of migration and injury to neurovascular structures.© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

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