title: Interesting case of a sewing needle inside the heart: report of a case.
abstract: Despite being rarely seen, penetrating cardiac injuries are clinically significant, as they are highly lethal. We herein present the case of a 3-year-old male who unintentionally injured himself by pricking his own chest with a sewing needle and introducing it through the left-lower margin of his sternum into his right ventricle. The needle was located anterior-posteriorly over the right ventricle. An anterior thoracotomy was performed, and the needle was safely removed. No hemorrhage or arrhythmia was seen, so the operation was ended. An early diagnosis and intervention proved to be life-saving for this penetrating cardiac injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Gaziantep University Medical Faculty, Gaziantep, Turkey, ahmetirdem81@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irdem
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Baspinar
authors.forename: Gokhan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gokaslan
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004630:Emergencies; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005548:Foreign-Body Migration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006335:Heart Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009339:Needles / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000150:complications* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013908:Thoracotomy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome