Citation

Affronti A, Di Bella I, Di Lazzaro D, Capozzi R, Scarnecchia E, Ragni T. J. Cardiovasc. Med. (LWW) 2014; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

aDepartment of Cardiac Surgery bDepartment of Thoracic Surgery, Santa Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Perugia, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.2459/JCM.0000000000000143

PMID

24979123

Abstract

Penetrating injuries of the heart caused by migrating needles have been rarely described. They usually occur accidentally or are self-inflicted in the setting of an underlying psychiatric disorder. We present an unusual case of cardiac tamponade caused by a sewing needle that migrated to the heart from the chest wall through the lung. The lesions were successfully repaired through a median sternotomy without cardiopulmonary bypass. The pathophysiological mechanism and the pertinent literature are briefly analysed.

Language: en