When doctors in South Korea examined the X-ray of a 65-year-old woman suffering from severe knee pain, they discovered a surprising sight: hundreds of tiny gold acupuncture needles embedded in her tissue. The woman, who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, had sought acupuncture after conventional pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs failed to ease her discomfort and caused stomach issues.

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A medical report published in the *New England Journal of Medicine* explained that the gold needles were intentionally left in her tissue as part of the treatment, a technique meant to provide continuous stimulation. Acupuncture is an alternative medical practice that involves inserting needles at specific points on the body to alleviate pain or treat various conditions.

However, leaving any foreign object in the body can be risky. Dr. Ali Guermazi, a professor of radiology at Boston University who was not involved in the case, warned that such objects can lead to inflammation, abscesses, and infection. He also noted that the presence of needles can obstruct a clear view of anatomy on an X-ray, making diagnosis more difficult.

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"The human body wants to get rid of the foreign object,” Dr. Guermazi stated. "It starts with some mechanism of defense, for example inflammation and forming fibrous tissue around the object.” He added that retained needles could prevent a patient from safely undergoing an MRI scan, as the magnets could cause the needles to move and potentially damage an artery.

While the insertion of sterile gold threads is a common treatment for arthritis in some Asian countries, there is little scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating medical conditions. Despite this, it remains a widely used practice. According to a U.S. National Institutes of Health survey, an estimated 3.1 million American adults and 150,000 children received acupuncture treatment in 2007.