Vertebral canal location of a broken drill bit

Summary

A 2 mm drill broke during plate fixation of an ilial fracture. Postoperative radiographs showed the tip of the drill bit to be within the L7 vertebral canal. It was retrieved 10 days later via dorsal laminectomy, immediately restoring weight bearing.

Keywords

Ilial fracture - drill bit breakage - vertebral canal foreign body - dorsal laminectomy

^a Physeptone, Martindale Pharmaceuticals, Romford, UK.

^b Synulox, Pfizer, Kent, UK.

^c Rimadyl, Pfizer, Kent, UK.

^d ACP Injection, Novartis, Hertfordshire, UK.

^e Rapinovet, Schering Plough, Middlesex, UK.

^f IsoFlurane Vet, Merial, Essex, UK.

^g Physeptone, Martindale Pharmaceuticals, Romford, UK.

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