After a spinal operation a week prior, doctors removed a 4-inch chunk of cement from a man’s heart.
A man was suffering from chest pains and shortness-of-breath for two days. He went to the emergency department.
This is not a common story. According to Saturday's peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine report, the cement piece that pierced his heart and right lung had been 4 inches long.
A week prior, the 56-year old man had already undergone surgery of another type, known as Kyphoplasty. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the procedure involves injecting a special cement type into damaged vertebrae to treat injury to the spine.
The cement leaked into the man's body, hardened, and traveled to his heart.
The man was rushed to the hospital after doctors at the ER confirmed that the chest pain was caused a foreign object. According to the report, surgeons removed the "sharp piece" of cement from the man's heart and repaired the damage.
According to the report, the man was "nearly fully recovered" one month after surgery and had no other complications.
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Kyphoplasty can lead to cement leaching into the body. This is a rare but well-known problem. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, complications are rare in cases involving brittle bones.
Gabe Weininger, the author of this report, was unable to be reached immediately for comment.
This article first appeared on USA TODAY. After spinal surgery, cement was found in the heart of man.
