Rejection of deeply implanted foreign body induced by acupuncture treatment in patient suffering intractable pains lasting ten years following traumatic injury to the left scapular region during a road accident.

Upper back pains lasting ten years were promptly improved in a 63 year old woman following the rejection of a forgotten foreign glass body, through a scar located over the left scapula, and treated by acupuncture. The patient insisted on having this treatment after unsuccessful prolonged and multi-disciplinary formal medical interventions culminating in preparations for exploratory surgery. The acupuncture directed to the scar induced an inflammatory reaction characterized by a sterile granulomatous reaction which surrounded a large piece of glass, apparently implanted in the soft tissue of the suprascapular area during a severe road accident which occurred ten years previously. The surgical intervention was avoided.