Post-mortem finding of a non-fatal left heart ventricle perforation by a pleural drain. A case report

A 76-year-old male with a previous history of heart arrhythmia and decompensation was treated for a complicated thoraco-abdominal trauma. Accidentally, a pleural drain was inserted in his heart through the ventricular septum, perforating the left ventricle, the drain tip being buried in its posterior wall. This injury was not recognized until autopsy. The patient died 7 days after insertion of the drain of lung emboli, which were related to his primary trauma and not to the heart perforation.