title: Retained intracardiac spring: an unusual foreign body.
abstract: A rare case of a penetrating intracardiac injury due to a ball-point pen in an adult male is reported. The patient presented with a retained metal spring embedded in the interventricular septum without any cardiac defects. A small metal tip of the pen was also present in the left lung. The patient was asymptomatic and without any cardiovascular compromise. The cardiac injury was managed conservatively. At two years after the injury the patient is still asymptomatic.
authors: Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors: S S
authors: SS
authors: Rana
authors: N K
authors: NK
authors: Jha
authors: T B
authors: TB
authors: Gangadhar
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D005547:Foreign Bodies; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D055370:Lung Injury; D008297:Male; D014950:Wounds, Penetrating / Q000150:complications*