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Unexpected pacemaker lead in an 84-year-old patient
Lauren Sams1, Stefan Brunner1, Michael Näbauer1
1Department of Cardiology, LMU-Klinikum, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
Insights
A rare case of spinal kyphoplasty material embolism, mistaken for a pacemaker lead, was diagnosed in an elderly patient. Conservative management was chosen due to the patient
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Radiology
- Neurosurgery
Background:
- An elderly patient with atrial fibrillation presented with an unidentified object on echocardiography.
- Prior records suggested a pacemaker lead, but the patient had no history of implantation.
Abstract:
An elderly patient with a history of atrial fibrillation presented to our emergency room. Previous medical records from another hospital described a pacemaker lead in the echocardiography although the patient had no known history of a pacemaker implantation. Finally, by close examination, chest X-ray, and computed tomography, we found that a kyphoplasty of the spine had caused a so-called palacos embolism, which had repeatedly been mistaken for a pacemaker lead. Unusually, there were no further signs of kyphoplasty material in the pulmonary veins. As the patient was asymptomatic and the embolism caused only moderate tricuspid regurgitation, a conservative treatment was agreed on.
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