• H K Oge, S Aydin, F Cağavi, and K Benli.
• Hacettepe University Medical School, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey.
• Acta Neurochir (Wien). 2001 Jan 1; 143 (4): 413-6.

Objective And ImportanceMigration of a foreign material via venous routes into the spinal canal is a very rare incidence. We report the second case in which a foreign body has migrated into the spinal canal via the venous route.Clinical PresentationThis 35-years-old man presented with sudden onset of severe low back pain and pain in the right leg four months after an unsuccessful attempt to remove a disconnected cardiac pacemaker lead via the femoral vein. Direct lumbar x-ray demonstrated the broken lead of the cardiac pacemaker at the entrance of the right L5 foramen which was also demonstrated by lumbar CT. SURGICAL INTERVENTION: After right L5 hemilaminotomy, the pacemaker lead was found in a vein of the anterior spinal venous plexus just beneath and lateral to the right L5 root. After dissecting it from the surrounding adipose tissue, the embolised pacemaker lead was taken out.ConclusionWe present a case report and review of the literature on migration of foreign material into the spinal canal, factors effecting the flow directions in the spinal veins. This case may be the first evidence that proved Batson's theory of spinal metastases in man.

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