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10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2014.7709
Pulmonary nail embolus after penetrating cardiac injury
Mehmet Yıldırım1, Ilgaz Doğusoy1, Fikri Yapıcı2, Hatice Demirbağ1, Recep Ustaalioğlu1
1Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2Departments of Cardiovascular Surgery, Dr. Siyami Ersek Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tgkdc.dergisi.2014.7709
Penetrating nail injuries may occur accidentally and
penetrating heart injuries by the nails are uncommon.
Finding foreign bodies in the heart may be challenging
during the operation due to the movement of the foreign
body. A 34-year-old construction worker was brought to
the emergency department with a history of accidental
injury with a nail. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed
pericardial effusion with tamponade. An urgent operation
was performed via median sternotomy. The whole thoracic
organs including the heart and the right lung was palpated,
but no foreign body was able to be detected. Perioperative
transesophageal echocardiography did not show any foreign
body. The operation was finished. In the day of surgery a
computed tomography scan of the thorax showed a foreign
body in the right posterior basal segment of the lung. The
second operation was performed via a right thoracotomy at
the postoperative fifth day. Foreign body was palpated in the
posterior basal segment of the right lung and it was removed.
Keywords : Embolus; foreign body migration; heart
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