Hypodermic needles: an unusual tracheobronchial foreign body.

Case reports of foreign bodies in the upper aerodigestive regions and descriptions of the various methods used to retrieve them have been recorded in the medical literature since ancient times. Sharp, penetrating foreign bodies are most dangerous and may cause acute complications if they perforate the air and food passages. Recently, the authors encountered nine cases of hypodermic needles in the tracheobronchial tree. Seven of the nine needles were removed endoscopically without complications and two were expelled by the patients.