A 69-year-old man was admitted after syncope followed with chest pain and signs of cardiac tamponade. He had undergone permanent dual-chamber pacemaker implantation 3 weeks earlier. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) confirmed a pericardial effusion, and urgent pericardial drainage was performed. Right ventricular perforation caused by active-fixation (screw-in) lead was verified by multislice computed tomography. The lead was extracted under fluoroscopy and bedside TTE monitoring in the operating room with cardiothoracic surgery backup. In the same act, the new ventricular passive-fixation lead was implanted.
Keywords: cardiac tamponade; complications; multislice computed tomography; pacemaker; pericardial drainage; right ventricular perforation; screw-in lead.