The cardiac migration of a Kirschner wire. A case report.

In June of 1995, a 48-year-old woman was admitted to an outlying hospital with a history of stomach pain several weeks in duration. A few years before, she had undergone orthopedic surgery because of bilateral coxarthrosis. Total endoprosthesis had been implanted at both hips. Chest radiography showed a metal foreign body (apparently a Kirschner wire) in the heart, whereas right-hip radiography showed no Kirschner wire. Echocardiography indicated that the wire was in the right ventricle. The patient underwent open-heart surgery, and the 5-cm-long Kirschner 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.