Cardiac Perforation and Multiple Emboli After Percutaneous Vertebroplasty

Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive technique for treating vertebral compression fractures and tumors. Although percutaneous vertebroplasty is considered a relatively safe and technically simple procedure, it is also associated with life-threatening complications as a result of cement leakage, including cardiac perforation and pulmonary embolism. A 63-year-old woman underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty for an L3 vertebral fracture and had cement leaks into the inferior vena cava, pulmonary arteries, and right heart chambers, with a free wall perforation. Surgical removal of the cement emboli was recommended as a result of apparent penetration of the ventricle and the fragile nature of polymethyl methacrylate. A cardiopulmonary bypass was immediately performed via a right atriotomy. A foreign body 10 cm in length was removed from the right atrium and ventricle. Arteriotomies were then performed, and 4 cement filaments were retrieved from the pulmonary arteries. The inferior vena cava was also surgically opened, allowing extraction of a cement fragment that was 12 cm long. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient fully recovered. This is the first report of the migration of a cement fragment larger than 10 cm that had migrated and embedded in the heart chamber. This report showed that imaging analysis is valuable when cement leakage is detected during percutaneous vertebroplasty and can be used to avoid serious complications and improve patient outcomes.