New Delhi, May 26 (IANS): In a rare and complex case, doctors here extracted a needle, embedded deep for three long years, in the hip muscles of a 49-year-old woman, Rambha Devi.

Three years ago, the needle stuck in the patient's hip while sewing.

Deeply engrossed in her sewing, she placed her needle on the bed for a moment. Distracted, she stood up to attend to something else, and then she suddenly slipped and fell back onto the bed.

The Delhi-based homemaker felt a sharp pain and found a broken needle on the bed. She thought the other half must've been broken off somewhere in the room.

For days, she searched for the missing piece of the needle, convinced it had fallen out. Unable to find it, she eventually gave up and went on with her life, though she constantly felt discomfort in her hips, which kept increasing over the years.

When the pain became unbearable, she finally decided to seek medical help. An X-ray revealed the lost 'needle' lodged deep in her hip muscle.

However, due to the complexity of the case, several doctors denied her surgery.

At Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Rambha underwent imaging with an X-ray and CT scan pre-operatively.

For the surgery, the hospital especially got a C- Arm machine- an advanced medical imaging device based on X-ray technology.

"After taking the incision and starting dissection, it was very difficult to locate the needle. Multiple X-rays had to be taken intraoperatively to precisely locate the needle, and finally, the team found the needle and extracted it in one piece without breaking it. It was a highly complex task," said Tarun Mittal, Senior Consultant in Dept of General Surgery at the hospital.

"This extraordinary story gives the lesson to always seek timely medical attention for unusual injuries and never ignore persistent discomfort. It also stands as a testament to the medical dedication and the unexpected turns life can take," the doctor said.

The patient is doing well now, the doctor said.