title: Iatrogenic Perforation of the Left Ventricle during Insertion of a Chest Drain.
abstract: Chest draining is a common procedure for treating pleural effusion. Perforation of the heart is a rare often fatal complication of chest drain insertion. We report a case of a 76-year-old female patient suffering from congestive heart failure. At presentation, unilateral opacity of the left chest observed on a chest X-ray was interpreted as massive pleural effusion, so an attempt was made to drain the left pleural space. Malposition of the chest drain was suspected because blood was draining in a pulsatile way from the catheter. Computed tomography revealed perforation of the left ventricle. Mini-thoracotomy was performed and the drain extracted successfully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Korea.
authors.forename: Dongmin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seong-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Pil Won
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Seo
keywords: Chest tubes; Complications; Heart