Abstract
Central venous port catheters (CVPCs) are commonly employed for long-term chemotherapy. One of the rare complications associated with CVPCs is catheter fracture and further embolization of the fragmented segment into the heart. The most common site of embolization is the superior vena cava-right atrium (RA) junction. However, infrequently, the catheter may embolize further distally into the right ventricle (RV) and beyond making the fragmented tips difficult to access directly with a snare. Here, we report a case wherein both the catheter tips were lodged in the RV cavity forming a loop in the RA. This necessitated the use of a modified technique to retrieve the fragment percutaneously.
Highlights
Every interventionalist should be well versed with the techniques to retrieve foreign materials from the venous and arterial circulation, as well as the right and left heart [1,2,3]
One of the rare complications associated with Central venous port catheters (CVPCs) is catheter fracture and further embolization of the fragmented segment into the heart
We report a case wherein both the catheter tips were lodged in the right ventricle (RV) cavity forming a loop in the right atrium (RA)
Summary
Every interventionalist should be well versed with the techniques to retrieve foreign materials from the venous and arterial circulation, as well as the right and left heart [1,2,3]. The most common site of embolization is the superior vena cava (SVC)-right atrium (RA) junction wherein the tips of the dislodged fragment may be accessible by standard snares [6]. The catheter may embolize further distally into the right ventricle (RV) and beyond making the fragmented tips difficult to access directly with a snare. The CVPC was fractured with a dislodged fragment Both the tips of the fragment were in the RV forming a loop in the right atrium (Figure 1). The snare was withdrawn into the IVC and readvanced to catch the distal tip of the dislodged fragment in the IVC, and the assembly was successfully pulled out (Figure 7).
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