title: Chronic Perforation of the Aortic Arch by Kirschner Wires.
abstract: Perforation of the heart or great vessels by orthopedic wires is a rare complication that mostly results in severe or even lethal organ injury. Therefore, such conditions mostly require immediate surgical removal of the wires. However, in some individual cases, a conservative approach may be preferable. We describe a case of a 70-year-old woman whose aortic arch has been penetrated by two Kirschner wires used for fixation of a right clavicle fracture 13 years ago. Notably, the complication was an incidental finding during computed tomography angiography for clarification of transient nonspecific neurological symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: T Dung
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sandhaus
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jena University Hospital, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Doenst
keywords: Kirschner wires; aortic arch; conservative approach; perforation