Asymptomatic intracardiac migration of a Kirschner wire from the right rib

Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2014 Apr;18(4):525-6. doi: 10.1093/icvts/ivt539. Epub 2014 Jan 2.

Abstract

We report the case of a 50-year old man diagnosed with intracardiac migration of a Kirschner wire (K-wire). The patient had undergone surgical fixation of rib fracture 32 months previously. Chest roentgenograms, chest computed tomographic scans and echocardiography revealed that one of the K-wires had migrated to the right ventricle. The K-wire was removed immediately. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported instance of asymptomatic intracardiac migration of a K-wire from the right rib.

Keywords: Foreign body; Intracardiac migration; Kirschner wire; Right ventricle.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Asymptomatic Diseases
  • Bone Wires / adverse effects*
  • Device Removal
  • Foreign-Body Migration / diagnosis
  • Foreign-Body Migration / etiology*
  • Foreign-Body Migration / surgery
  • Fracture Fixation, Internal / adverse effects*
  • Fracture Fixation, Internal / instrumentation*
  • Heart Diseases / diagnosis
  • Heart Diseases / etiology*
  • Heart Diseases / surgery
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Rib Fractures / surgery*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed