LAUSR

Due to the various diagnostic applications of pleural effusion, chest tube placement has become a very common intervention. As the numbers of procedures increase, so do the complications. We report an emergency case of a patient, who was admitted to our department with a perforated left ventricle, following a chest tube insertion. The increase of chest drain interventions for diagnostic evaluations has led the iatrogenic perforation of the heart during these procedures, to be considered more of a complication than negligence. A 73‐year‐old male was transferred to our emergency department, from a primary health unit, with a perforated left ventricle, due to a failed chest tube insertion, for pleural effusion drainage. During his transport and arrival to the department, the patient was in a conscious, oriented, and hemodynamically stable condition. It is of uttermost importance, that the left ventricular perforation, was immediately diagnosed at the primary health unit, with the aid of a heart ultrasound and the chest tube was left in place. thorax computed tomography and three‐dimensional reconstruction (Figure 1A,B), which was performed at our emergency department, demonstrated the chest tube, entering the thorax through the right, fifth intercostal space, midaxillary line, and perforating the left ventricle up to the aortic valve. To everyone's surprise, the patient denied any intervention for more than 24 h after the incident, without having any adverse complications. Eventually, he consented and was transferred to the operation room, where a left anterolateral thoracotomy was performed (Figure 1C). The ventricular perforation was managed with single pledgeted polypropylene sutures. Patient had an uneventful recovery and was discharged on the fifth postoperative day.