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Background Surgical intervention for spontaneous pneumothorax typically includes mechanical pleurodesis that frequently utilizes a Bovie scratch pad given its universal presence, low cost and ease of use. The pad is folded on itself after dividing it in half, allowing easier passage through the smaller incisions. However, unintentional foreign body retention may occur during the course of an operation leading to reoperations or even worse complications. This case is reported to raise awareness that dividing the scratch pad may allow the embedded radio-opaque marker to fall out and become retained as a foreign body. Case presentation The patient is a 41 year-old female who presented with shortness of breath secondary to spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest CT scan showed apical blebs. The patient underwent video assisted thorascopic surgery (VATS) with bleb resection and mechanical pleurodesis using a divided and folded bovie scratch pad. Postoperative chest x-ray showed a retained foreign body. Reoperation confirmed this to be the radio-opaque marker of the scratch pad and was removed. The patient did well and was discharged the following day. Conclusion Dividing the bovie scratch pad may damage and “weaken” the product allowing the radio- opaque marker to fall out during its use for pleurodesis and should be discouraged. Recommendation is made of using the scratch pad as a whole and not dividing it. Graphical abstract Retained radio-opaque marker of bovie scratch pad during VATS mechanical pleurodesis.

The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the need for safe and efficient testing as a key containment strategy. Drive-through testing with nasopharyngeal swab has been implemented in many places in the USA as it allows for expeditious testing of large numbers of patients, limits healthcare workers’ risk of exposure, and minimizes the use of personal protective equipment. We present a case where the aluminum shaft of the nasopharyngeal swab fractured during specimen collection at a drive-through testing facility and was suspected to have remained in the asymptomatic patient. Initial evaluation with a series of radiographs covering the skull base, neck, chest, and abdomen did not reveal the swab. On further clinical evaluation, the swab was found endoscopically, lodged between the left inferior turbinate and nasal floor, and was removed by an otorhinolaryngologist. Using a phantom model, we aimed to delineate an imaging technique to better visualize the aluminum shaft of the nasopharyngeal swab on radiographs to help in identification. A technique using lower tube voltage (kVp) with tight collimation centered at the nasal bones area produced the best visualization of the aluminum shaft of the swab. Recognition that aluminum foreign bodies may be difficult to visualize radiographically and optimization of radiograph acquisition technique may help guide clinical management in unusual cases. Further evaluation with computed tomography or endoscopy should be considered in suspected cases where radiographs are negative.

On 30 June 1559, Henry II, King of France, was mortally wounded in the head by a lance during a jousting match. Despite the best efforts of his physicians, Ambroise Paré and Andreas Vesalius, King Henry died 11 days later. This article, based on previously unpublished evidence, aims at examining the historical account of his death against modern medical practice to establish the probable cause of the king's death. We also discuss what treatments the doctors in the sixteenth century may have had to offer. Historical accounts of the joust provide details of the incident including the position of the visor of the king's helmet. Descriptions of the wood fragments removed from the right orbit by Italian observers and a new translation of the autopsy by Andreas Vesalius allow an accurate description of the actual injury. Our research counters previous theories and concludes that Henry II was the victim of craniofacial trauma involving the right eye and that he died from periorbital cellulitis caused by a retained foreign body in the wound, complicated by a left interhemispheric empyema preceded by a traumatic interhemispheric haematoma. It would appear that the royal court doctors advocated a wait-and-see strategy, with little actual input from Ambroise Paré or Andreas Vesalius, with a clearly regrettable outcome.

Satisfactory outcomes following an open patellar fracture are quite common. The priorities of management are thorough debridement and rigid fixation by wiring technique or other procedures. In this paper, the authors reported a piece of jean cotton retained in the left knee joint following an open patellar fracture case. Marked chronic synovitis and an osteochondral defect of the lateral femoral condyle were illustrated. The reaction subsided following the removal of the foreign body. With 20-years follow-up, the defect healed with radiologic evidence of knee osteoarthritis. The case demonstrates the need for surgeons to be aware of unrecognized retained foreign body, particularly any torn part of the clothes worn at the time of injury.

We report a case of 38-year-old male who was reffered from eye OPD with a retained foreign body in the periobita of Rt eye extending into the Rt ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses after six months of injury. The foreign body was removed through external ethmoidectomy and incision on the periorbita of Rt eye.

Gossypiboma, an infrequent surgical complication, is a mass lesion due to a retained surgical sponge surrounded by foreign-body reaction. A 27-year-old lady presented with palpable abdominal mass five years after cesarean section. Retained foreign body was diagnosed radiologically and confirmed with operation. Retained foreign body should be in the differential diagnosis of any postoperative patient who presents with pain, infection, or palpable mass.

Maternal mortality remains a battle to be won in India. Unsafe abortions contribute to 8.9 % of maternal mortality [1] and still prevail in India. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act has been in existence since last four decades, yet remains unreachable to many.

TVT-Secur is a new "less" invasive derivative of the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT). We report an unusual case of dyspareunia for both the patient and her husband resulting from a retained finger pad from the TVT-Secur introducer. The sling was also explanted because of malposition.

Retained foreign bodies after surgery have the potential to cause serious medical complications for patients and bring fourth serious medico-legal consequences for surgeons and hospitals. Standard operating room protocols have been adopted to reduce the occurrence of the most common retained foreign bodies. Despite these precautions, radiolucent objects and uncounted components/pieces of instruments are at risk to be retained in the surgical wound. We report the unusual case of a retained plastic pulsatile lavage irrigator tip in the surgical wound during acetabulum fracture fixation, which was subsequently identified on routine postoperative computed tomography. Revision surgery was required in order to remove the retained object, and the patient had no further complications.