Chinese Man Goes To Hospital With Blood In Urine, Doctors Find 36mm Needle In His Heart

Doctors in China were shocked to discover a 36mm sewing needle embedded in the heart of a 35-year-old man who had gone to hospital complaining of painful urination and blood in his urine. What made the case particularly unusual was that the man had no heart-related symptoms. His vital signs were normal, and despite the potentially life-threatening foreign object inside his heart, his cardiovascular system was continuing to function.

The man, who has an intellectual disability, was examined at Hunan Provincial People's Hospital after experiencing pain while urinating and haematuria, or blood in the urine, Science Alert reported. 

During medical imaging, doctors noticed an unusual shadow near his heart. A CT scan of his chest, abdomen and pelvis then revealed several metallic objects lodged in different parts of his body. The objects were found in the abdominal wall, pelvis, bladder wall and bladder cavity, as well as the hip bone, hip muscle and penis.

The most serious finding was a 36mm (1.4-inch) sewing needle that had pierced the pericardium, the protective sac surrounding the heart. Its sharp tip had extended into the left ventricle and was moving in synchrony with the beating heart.

Although the patient's heart was still functioning normally, doctors feared the needle could move further and cause a heart rupture, severe bleeding or infection. They therefore decided to remove the cardiac foreign body first.

During surgery, doctors also found sewing needles lodged in the bladder. Some had become covered in hard, stone-like deposits, suggesting they had been there for a considerable period. These were subsequently removed to reduce the risk of bleeding, leakage and other complications.

The patient recovered well after treatment. However, doctors were unable to determine how the needles had entered his body. Neither the man nor his family could provide a clear explanation.

However, his medical history reportedly showed that two similar needle-like objects had been removed from his abdomen about two years earlier. Thee treating doctors did not have access to detailed records from that earlier procedure, so it remains unclear whether those objects had been deliberately or accidentally inserted.

Doctors said the multiple foreign bodies raised the possibility of self-embedding behaviour, in which a person deliberately inserts objects into their own body. However, the case report does not establish with certainty how the needles entered the man's body.

Such cases involving needles in the heart are extremely rare. A 2024 scientific review found only 34 reported cases of needles deliberately inserted into the heart as a form of self-harm since 1967. In some cases, foreign objects can remain in the heart for extended periods without causing obvious symptoms, making diagnosis particularly challenging.

The case has been published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, with written informed consent provided by the patient's father.