The man had suffered chest pain and shortness of breath for two days before checking into the ER, according to the Oct. 2 report. A week earlier, he underwent an L5 kyphoplasty with polymethylmethacrylate medical cement.
He underwent emergency surgery after imaging found a foreign object in his heart. A 10 cm long sharp cement embolism was perforating the right atrium and puncturing the right lung. The man’s embolus was removed, his heart was repaired and he was nearly recovered after a month.
Cement embolisms are a complication of kyphoplasty since cement can leak into the circulatory system, harden and embolize, the report said.
