Kirschner wire embolization to the heart: an unusual cause of pericardial tamponade

A 50-year-old man presented with an abrupt onset of sharp, pleuritic, right-sided chest pain. A chest radiograph revealed a metallic foreign body over the cardiac silhouette; a chest CT scan localized the object to within the wall of the right ventricle. The patient subsequently developed pericardial tamponade necessitating pericardiocentesis. A 25-mm-long Kirschner wire protruding through the wall of the right ventricle was removed via thoracotomy. Forty-two months previously, the patient had undergone open reduction and fixation of a left radius fracture with two Kirschner wires. Clinicians caring for patients with orthopedic wires in place should be aware of wire migration with cardiac embolization as a potential complication.