Percutaneous retrieval of intravascular foreign bodies: experience with 19 cases

From April 1994 to June 2002, 17 catheter fragments and two guidewires became intravascular foreign bodies during venous catheterization at our hospital. Retrievals of these 19 foreign bodies were performed percutaneously with loop snare techniques (10 cases), Dormia basket retrievers (eight cases) and grasping forceps (one case). The percutaneous retrieval procedures were successful in 18 of 19 cases. A broken Port-A catheter fragment anchored and entrapped in the vascular wall of the right brachiocephalic vein failed to be removed. No complication was noted during or after these percutaneous procedures. Our experience indicates that intravascular foreign bodies can be removed easily, safely, and successfully with currently available percutaneous methods. As a result, major surgical procedures can be avoided if interventional radiologists are familiar with a variety of techniques for the removal of the expanding spectrum of intravascular foreign bodies currently encountered.