A wire in the heart

The Heart Surgery Forum, 2006

2016

Kirschner (K) wires can easily migrate, resulting in serious complications. We report a 49-year-old woman who had a rare and late complication related to the migration of K wire. It had been used for left hip replacement 8 years ago. The patient admitted to our hospital with breathing-depend-ent chest pain and increasing dyspnea for 2 h. Chest X-ray and chest computed tomographic scans revealed the presence of a metallic image of 5–6 cm in the right hemithorax. There was a large hemothorax but no pneumothorax. A right thoracotomy was performed and the wire was removed without complications. Surprisingly, no injury was noted to any intervening abdominal structure intra-operatively. Patients, who are treated with K wire, should be informed of the risk of wire migration and should undergo regular postoperative follow-ups including radiography.

Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 2006

This is a case of cor triatriatum with unroofed coronary sinus without the left SVC in an adult patient. The coronary sinus was created using the left atrial diaphragm flap. The ASD was closed with his own atrial septum and the large Thebesian valve so that the coronary veins could return to the right atrium. The advantages of the present methods are (1) no materials other than autologous intracardiac components are used to repair all anomalies, (2) all major coronary veins returned to the right atrium, (3) the coronary sinus was created with thick and flexible in situ muscle flap so that the new roof of the coronary sinus could not be deformed.

Orthopedics, 2014

This article describes a patient in whom a broken cerclage wire migrated from the left hip into the left ventricle. A 71-year-old woman was admitted to the authors' hospital for preoperative examination before femoral hernia repair. Chest radiograph showed a metallic wire in the left ventricle. Twenty-four years earlier, she had a revision arthroplasty. During revision surgery, fragments of the osteotomy were fixed to the femur with multiple cerclage wires. During the past 5 years, radiographic follow-up showed progressive multiple ruptures of cerclage wires. The cerclage wiring was not removed because the patient had no related clinical symptoms. Radiograph of the left hip showed a well-fixed cemented acetabular ring and an uncemented femoral stem with a healed trochanteric osteotomy. All cerclage wires were broken into multiple parts, and it was very difficult to determine which part had migrated into the heart. Thoracic computed tomography scan showed wire that had migrated i...

2016

Pins used to stabilize the acromioclavicular joint have a colourful, interesting history of migrating into remote, life threatening locations such as lungs, 1

Journal of Small Animal Practice, 2008

A 12-year-old, male Yorkshire terrier was presented for acute pulmonary oedema. Thoracic radiographs showed a linear metallic foreign body within the cardiac silhouette. Echocardiogram showed a hyperechoic line extending through the left ventricle, the mitral valve, leading into the left atrium. A 4 cm long Kirschner wire was surgically removed by left fourth thoracotomy. The dog died two days after surgery for acute pulmonary oedema. Necropsy showed thrombi on the mitral leaflets that impeded their movement.

Journal of Surgical Case Reports, 2014

Kirschner (K) wires can easily migrate, resulting in serious complications. We report a 49-year-old woman who had a rare and late complication related to the migration of K wire. It had been used for left hip replacement 8 years ago. The patient admitted to our hospital with breathing-dependent chest pain and increasing dyspnea for 2 h. Chest X-ray and chest computed tomographic scans revealed the presence of a metallic image of 5-6 cm in the right hemithorax. There was a large hemothorax but no pneumothorax. A right thoracotomy was performed and the wire was removed without complications. Surprisingly, no injury was noted to any intervening abdominal structure intra-operatively. Patients, who are treated with K wire, should be informed of the risk of wire migration and should undergo regular postoperative follow-ups including radiography.

Open Journal of Anesthesiology, 2012

Cardiac tamponade is a surgical emergency. This case report illustrates a very peculiar situation, where the patient's condition deteriorated rapidly after arrival to the emergency room with a diagnosis of cardiac tamponade. Patient was promptly taken to the operating room and after evacuation of the pericardial effusion, had to be placed on cardio-pulmonary bypass in order to find and treat the source of the bleeding. A wire fragment was recovered from the right ventricle. This was identified as a broken piece of a guide wire used in placing a central venous catheter several years earlier.

Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 2017

Kirschner wires are used in orthopedic surgery for fixation of fractures. We have recently treated a patient who presented with intrathoracic migration of a sharp Kirschner wire which was used for fixing acromioclavicular fracture. She underwent successful thoracotomy with retrieval of the wire from the right upper lobe. Close follow- up and early detection will allow successful treatment of this dangerous complication.

Pins used to stabilize the acromioclavicular joint have a colourful, interesting history of migrating into remote, life threatening locations such as lungs, spinal cord, the neck, posterior to the carotid sheath and the pleura or close to it. 35 year male 3 year post op K wire fixation acromioclavicular joint came with history of pain in neck was diagnosed with broken K wire in neck. Even though K wire fixation and tension band wiring is one of the modes of treating acromioclavicular dislocation K wire fixation should be kept as the last resort while planning the treatment. Complications of K wire migration can be lethal. Hence K wiring in acromioclavicular joint should be done with utmost caution.