title: The periprostatic venous plexus: an unusual source of fatal pulmonary embolism during corporoplasty.
abstract: When a sudden death occurs during a minor surgical intervention, it may require a careful and extensive postmortem investigation. One such case concerns a 61-year-old male patient affected by Peyronie's disease, who died suddenly during a corporoplasty procedure. Autopsy and histologic examinations showed a massive bilateral pulmonary micro-embolism brought on by periprostatic venous plexus thrombosis. The cause of death was attributed to intraoperative fatal pulmonary micro-embolism. Pulmonary thromboembolism is a major cause of death and is known to be a possible complication of surgery. Nevertheless, the periprostatic venous plexus is an unusual site of thrombosis, as it has been demonstrated that the majority of emboli originate in the legs. In this case, the embolism was massive and fatal and occurred during a minor surgical procedure, even though the patient was not at risk for venous thromboembolism, nor did he have a significant past medical history.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Agostino Gemelli Hospital, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Nazario
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Foschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Agostino Gemelli Hospital, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ragonese
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Section of Legal Medicine, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Grassi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Section of Legal Medicine, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentino
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: De Matteis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, Section of Legal Medicine, Catholic University Medical School, Rome, Italy. Fabio.DeGiorgio@unicatt.it.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De-Giorgio
mesh_terms: D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010411:Penile Induration / Q000601:surgery; D011467:Prostate / Q000098:blood supply; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Fatal pulmonary embolism; Forensic autopsy; Periprostatic venous plexus thrombosis; Sudden death