X-Ray Reveals Hundreds of Gold Needles in Woman’s Knees

It could also make it hard for a doctor to read an X-ray. “The needles may obscure some of the anatomy,” Guermazi said.

“The human body wants to get rid of the foreign object,” Guermazi said. “It starts with some mechanism of defense, for example inflammation and forming [fibrous tissue] around the object.”

Needles left in the body can lead to other challenges, too. “The patient can’t go into an MRI because needles left in the body may move, and damage an artery,” Guermazi said.