Cardiac tamponade caused by fracture and migration of inferior vena cava filter.

A 53-year-old male presented to the emergency room with acute cardiopulmonary compromise. Echocardiography revealed cardiac tamponade. The patient was taken emergently for surgery and a 28 gauge wire of 1.5 cm was retrieved from his right ventricle. A section had fractured from the inferior vena cava (IVC) filter and migrated to the right ventricle, causing perforation and tamponade. Very few cases of fractured IVC filters that have migrated to the heart, and even fewer cases causing cardiac tamponade, have been described. The risk factors that cause migration of IVC filters need to be further elucidated.