The story of the lost needle: Foreign body embolization to the heart.

A 61-year-old female was evaluated because of severe symptomatic mitral regurgitation. She was found to have a foreign body in the heart by cardiac catheterization. Through a retrospective review of serial imaging studies, we found that a hypodermic needle had been retained in the body from a prior abdominal wall surgery and had subsequently migrated to the heart. During surgical mitral valve replacement the needle was identified and removed. We demonstrate the trajectory of this foreign body from the abdominal wall into the heart. .