Interventional closure in the treatment of cardiac cavity perforation caused by pericardial puncture: a case report

Abstract

Interventional treatment for left ventricular free wall or apex perforation is rarely reported. This current case report describes a male patient in his 70 s with left ventricular perforation caused by pericardiocentesis that was successfully treated through interventional means. The patient was admitted to the hospital due to chest pain accompanied by asthmatic breathing difficulties that had lasted for the previous 10 h. Two years previously, the patient had a history of thymoma, during which pericardial effusion was discovered, leading to multiple hospitalizations for pericardial fluid aspiration. On the 10th day of admission, a chest computed tomography scan confirmed iatrogenic left ventricular apical perforation and haemorrhagic anaemia, after which interventional transcatheter left ventricular perforation sealing was performed. Postoperatively, the patient was conscious, with stable vital signs and no particular discomfort. The successful implementation of this interventional procedure suggests a new minimally invasive solution for treating left ventricular perforation caused by pericardiocentesis or interventional catheterization.