Is this the natural history of the retention wire? A case report

We report on a 71-year-old man who had a dual chamber pacemaker implanted in 1991. A Class IV fracture of the Telectronics Accufix 330-801 atrial lead was observed on a chest X ray in December 1993. Serial chest X ray and fluoroscopy documented stable position of the migrated fractured J wire. The patient remained asymptomatic and a decision for conservative monitoring was made. A subsequent finding of a right atrial mass on echocardiography and evidence of pulmonary embolism on lung scan prompted a change of strategy. The patient underwent atriotomy, and a right atrial thrombus was discovered associated with the fractured J retention wire, both of which were extracted uneventfully. This case is illustrative that despite apparent stability of a Class IV fracture, it may result in endothelial injury with a thrombogenic nidus and resultant complications.