Temporary Epicardial Pacing Wire Migration into the Right Heart, 10 Months after Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Abstract

<jats:p>Migrations of retained temporary epicardial pacing wires (TEPWs) are rare and critical complications of cardiac surgery. A 73-year-old man who had received coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with retained TEPW 10 months previously visited the outpatient clinic. In routine echocardiography, we observed an artificial structure in the right heart. We performed computed tomography (CT), identified TEPW in the right heart, confirmed the TEPW migration process by comparing it with previous CTs, and removed it via catheter intervention. We report this rare case because we identified TEPW in the heart, determined its migration process, and removed it without complications.</jats:p>

Rare Intra-Aortic Migration of Temporary Epicardial Pacing Wire

“…The literature describes the migration of pacing wires to the right heart or main pulmonary artery and less commonly to the left heart or aorta with reports to even distant sites such as jaw, right carotid artery, bronchus, bronchial artery, pleural space, lung parenchyma, peritoneal cavity, transcolonic, and transepidermal migration. 8 9 10 11 12 Our case is one of the few case reports described in the literature as yet in which an epicardial pacing wire has pierced and migrated into the aorta.…”