• Vol. 38 No. 7, 651–652
  • 15 July 2009

Retained Foreign Body Mimicking Sciatica

Soft tissue foreign bodies (FBs) are a common occurrence in emergency departments. Not all FBs are discovered during the initial patient encounter; several signs reveal the presence of a retained FB in a wound.1 Some FBs cause significant problems, including inflammation, chronic pain and repeat visits, whereas some FBs are asymptomatic and remain undetected for months or years. We report a case of a retained FB in the right buttock mimicking sciatica in an 83-year-old woman who presented with low back pain radiating to the right lower leg.

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