Migration of a Temporary Epicardial Pacing Wire to the Main Pulmonary Artery Trunk During the Acute Phase After Cardiac Surgery

Abstract

A 60-year-old man was referred to the emergency room of our hospital with back pain. During examination, he suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest. Suspecting acute coronary artery syndrome, emergency coronary angiography was performed. During percutaneous coronary intervention to the proximal left circumflex artery, cardiac tamponade occurred, and the patient was transferred to the operating room for an emergency repair of a left ventricular rupture. Before closing his chest, a Temporary Epicardial Pacing Wire (TEPW) was placed on the right ventricle. This wire was cut flush with the skin surface on postoperative day 7. On POD 28, the patient experienced an inflammatory reaction, and on POD 30, computed tomography revealed that this TEPW had migrated into the pulmonary artery. Under fluoroscopic guidance, the wire was extracted from the right ventricle and pulmonary artery using a gooseneck snare. After extraction, the patient's recovery was uneventful.