• Legal medicine · Sep 2010

    Case Reports

    Diagnosis of fatal pulmonary fat embolism with minimally invasive virtual autopsy and post-mortem biopsy.

    • Laura Filograna, Stephan A Bolliger, Danny Spendlove, Corinna Schön, Patricia M Flach, and Michael J Thali.
    • Department of Legal Medicine, Centre of Forensic Imaging and Virtopsy, University of Berne, Buehlstrasse 20, 3012 Bern, Switzerland. laura.filograna@irm.unibe.ch
    • Leg Med (Tokyo). 2010 Sep 1; 12 (5): 233-7.

    AbstractWe report a case of a 78-year-old female with a proximal femur fracture caused by an accidental fall who died suddenly 1h after orthopaedic prosthesis insertion. Post-mortem computed tomography (CT) scan and histological examination of samples obtained with post-mortem percutaneous needle biopsies of both lungs were performed. Analysis of the medical history and the clinical scenario immediately before death, imaging data, and biopsy histology established the cause of death without proceeding to traditional autopsy. It was determined to be acute right ventricular failure caused by massive pulmonary fat embolism. Although further research in post-mortem imaging and post-mortem tissue sampling by needle biopsies is necessary, we conclude that the use of CT techniques and percutaneous biopsy, as additional tools, can offer a viable alternative to traditional autopsy in selected cases and may increase the number of minimally invasive forensic examinations performed in the future.Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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