[The use of lot numbers of surgically implanted devices for forensic identification]

The present study aims to discuss two successful identification cases of the search warrants on unknown bodies by the Baranya County Police Department. In both cases, identification was only possible by using lot numbers of the traumatological metal implants removed during exhumation, several years after the bodies had been discovered and the post-mortem investigation was completed. We hope that the cases provided will highlight the importance of secondary identifiers, specifically the lot numbers of medical implants, in forensic identification practice. We would also like to draw attention to the fact that the only way to identify the majority of the over a thousand unknown corpses in Hungary (742 of them have been under warrant for more than ten years) is to re-examine the corpses using recent years' results in technical and technological improvements. The presented cases highlight the importance of documenting the identification numbers of implanted surgical devices during autopsies. Orv Hetil. 2023; 164(23): 911-918.