Intracranially Retained Sewing Needle in a Child: Does the Rust on the Needle Have any Implication?

A penetrating injury with a sewing needle is a rare phenomenon. The pathophysiological mechanism of late epilepsy after penetrating injuries is not clear. A 10-year-old female child had a seizure. An X-ray study of the skull and the cranial computed tomography scans showed a foreign object retained in the skull cavity. She was intact on neurological examination. Electroencephalogram (EEG) showed that there was bioelectrical disorganization in both hemispheres, being more prominent on the left side. A right posterior frontal median craniotomy was performed in order not to retract the left hemisphere within the interhemispheric fissure and the sewing needle was removed successfully. The sewing needle was rusted. The reason for the patient's seizure, 10 years after the injury, may be the corrosion of the sewing needle and rust formation in this case.