Key result
Delayed bone cement migration after vertebroplasty can cause life-threatening cardiac tamponade and RV perforation.
Why the study?
Delayed presentation of right ventricular perforation due to bone cement migration after vertebroplasty is rare and clinically important to recognize.
Case Report (n=1)
Highlights the rare but life-threatening risk of delayed right ventricular perforation due to bone cement migration months after percutaneous vertebroplasty, emphasizing the critical role of multimodality imaging for diagnosis.
Alerts clinicians to rare delayed tamponade after vertebroplasty; extends case reports but leaves open incidence and surveillance needs.
CASE SUMMARY: A 75-year-old woman presented with cardiac tamponade 6 months after percutaneous vertebroplasty following an otherwise asymptomatic course. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed pericardial effusion and a hyperechoic linear structure penetrating the right ventricular free wall. Comparison of radiographs demonstrated interval migration of bone cement into the cardiac silhouette, and computed tomography clearly demonstrated right ventricular free wall perforation. Surgical findings confirmed the diagnosis. Although intracardiac cement embolism has been reported, delayed presentation after an asymptomatic course is rare. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: Delayed, clinically silent bone cement migration can present as life-threatening cardiac tamponade. Serial radiography, echocardiography, and computed tomography are critical for recognizing delayed intracardiac cement migration and guiding urgent surgical management.
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Setoguchi et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Cardiac tamponade and right ventricular perforation (n=1). Percutaneous vertebroplasty (bone cement migration) was evaluated. Delayed, clinically silent bone cement migration 6 months after percutaneous vertebroplasty presented as life-threatening cardiac tamponade and right ventricular perforation in a 75-year-old woman.
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