Intracardiac polymethylmethacrylate cement embolism.

Abstract

A 56-year-old man who underwent a recent elective L5 kyphoplasty for a mild-moderate compression fracture presented to the emergency department with dyspnea and right-sided chest pain that significantly worsened with movement. Chest x-ray and computed tomography scan demonstrated a possible intracardiac foreign body for which the patient was taken to surgery (Figure 1). The patient underwent a median sternotomy that immediately revealed a 10.1 × 0.2-cm foreign body (Figure 2, A) perforating the right atrium (Figure 2, B), transgressing the pericardium into the pleural space (Figure 2, C), and puncturing the lung.