THE CARDIAC MIGRATION OF A KIRSCHNER WIRE - A CASE-REPORT

In June of 1995, a 48-year-old woman was admitted to an outlying hospi tal with a history of stomach pain several weeks in duration. A few ye ars before, she had undergone orthopedic surgery because of bilateral coxarthrosis. Total endoprostheses had been implanted at both hips. Ch est radiography showed a metal foreign body (apparently a Kirschner wi re) in the heart, whereas right-hip radiography showed no Kirschner wi re. Echocardiography indicated that the wire was in the right ventricl e. The patient underwent open-hears surgery, and the 5-cm-long Kirschn er wire was removed from the right ventricle through a right atriotomy . To the best of our knowledge, this is the only reported instance of intracardiac embolization of a Kirschner wire.