Spinal Introducer Needle Breakage During Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Section: A Case Report

Spinal and epidural anesthesia are the preferred choices for patients undergoing a cesarean section (CS). The increased use of neuraxial anesthesia in obstetrics may lead to certain complications such as needle breakage. While several cases of broken spinal and epidural needles have been reported, the exact incidence of needle breakage remains uncertain. The use of pencil-point needles with smaller diameters and the increasing BMI among pregnant individuals may have contributed to the increase in the reported incidents of broken needles during obstetric surgery. We present a case of a patient who was found to have a leftover spinal introducer needle in her back after undergoing spinal anesthesia for CS.