The clinical application of the dental mini C-arm for the removal of broken instruments in soft and hard tissue in the oral and maxillofacial area.

Many kinds of broken instruments, such as needles, probes, scalpels and catheters, are reported to be left in patients after surgery. These parts should be removed as soon as possible to prevent further complications. However, it is not easy to identify the exact location of the instrument intraoperatively, and a risk of damage exists for neighbouring nerves or vessels during the removal. The C-arm used in orthopaedic surgery, is seen as a useful and safe way to detect metal materials intraoperatively. However, its application for removal of broken instruments in the oral and maxillofacial area is not practical because of its large size. In our experiences with the removal of eight broken instruments in the oral and maxillofacial area, the newly developed dental mini C-arm was useful in finding broken instruments in soft tissue (five cases) and in paranasal sinus (one case), because it gives real time in situ information. This is important, because the position of the broken instrument can be changed due to traction of the soft tissue or swelling. The dental mini C-arm was less helpful in finding broken instruments in soft tissues compared to hard tissues (two cases) as the position of instruments did not change.