Health · Medical Research · 7 hrs ago
Italian boy has bicycle brake lever removed three years after crash
A 13-year-old boy in Italy had a bicycle part removed after it remained inside him for three years.
He fell off his bicycle at age 10, and the fall initially seemed to cause no lasting problem.
The 5.5-centimetre metal brake lever had entered through a small wound in his side and lodged in his lower back.
Years later, pain in his right leg and discomfort in both legs led doctors to investigate, though neurological tests found nothing abnormal.
A spinal X-ray revealed the object was near a nerve root, making removal a delicate operation.
Surgeons spent three hours freeing the nerve while monitoring its function, and the operation was successful.
He was able to stand the next day and left hospital a few days later.
A 13-year-old boy in Italy had surgery to remove a bicycle brake lever that had been lodged in his back for three years.
The lever entered his body through a small wound in his side during a bicycle crash when he was 10.
Three years later, he developed pain in his right leg and discomfort in both legs.
A spinal X-ray revealed a 5.5-centimetre metal object near a nerve root in his lower back.
The three-hour operation was successful, and he left hospital a few days later.
- Who
- A 13-year-old boy in Italy.
- What
- He had surgery to remove a bicycle brake lever lodged in his lower back.
- When
- The crash happened when he was 10; the object was removed three years later.
- Where
- Italy. The object was lodged in the boy’s lumbar region.
- Why
- Leg pain and discomfort led to further examinations, and a spinal X-ray revealed the object.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The boy fell from his bicycle, and the brake lever entered his body through a small wound in his side.
He developed pain in his right leg, followed by discomfort in both legs.
A spinal X-ray revealed a 5.5-centimetre metal object in his lumbar region.
Surgeons removed the lever in a three-hour procedure while monitoring the boy’s nerves.
The boy was able to get up.
He left hospital.
- Age at crash
- 10
- Age at surgery
- 13
- Object
- Bicycle brake lever, 5.5 centimetres long
- Location
- Lumbar region, near a nerve root
- Operation duration
- Three hours
- Outcome
- Surgery was successful; he left hospital a few days later
3 sources
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Lors d’une chute à vélo, un frein se loge dans le dos d’un petit garçon : les médecins ne le découvrent que 3 ans après
Après des douleurs inexpliquées aux jambes, un adolescent découvre qu’il vit avec un morceau de vélo dans le dos depuis trois ans
What people are saying
We had to gradually free the nerve from the foreign body, working with extreme precision to preserve its function