Interventional radiological retrieval of embolized vascular access device fragments

Percutaneous and surgical removal of two cases of embolized totally implantable venous access devices that were implanted a long time ago

“…However, fractured and embolized TVAD is still associated with serious complications such as pulmonary embolism, IE, life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden death (5, 6). Embolized TVAD can stay without any complication for a long duration of time (14 years for one of our cases); conversely, it can cause a complication in a short period of time.…”

“…Predicting the risk of future complications is difficult; however, the underlying disease and associated comorbidities are important. Therefore, the retrieval of TVAD is recommended (6). Percutaneous retrieval of TVAD fragments is the preferred method because it has a high success rate; however, individual patient characteristics and comorbidities should be considered to select the most appropriate strategy (6, 7).…”

Disconnection of the Rubber Tip of Arrow-Trerotola Percutaneous Thrombolytic Device

“…A snare-loop wire or its modification, the wire-balloon technique, a nitinol goose-neck snare, grasping forceps and Fogarty balloon catheters are methods to remove intravascular foreign bodies (8-10). We also used a snare catheter to remove the rubber tip if the soft rubber tip was disconnected from the basket of the PTD.…”

Percutaneous Removal of a Broken and Embolized Transvenous Chemotherapy Port Catheter in the Left Pulmonary Artery by Using a Snare-loop Catheter

“…While surgery was the only choice in the treatment of broken and migrated catheters in the past, currently, percutaneous transcatheter retrieval of the portacath fractured fragment by interventional endovascular techniques is the most common technique and successfully performed with much lower morbidity and mortality rates when compared with surgery in adult patients even in neonates (1,5,6,14,(23)(24)(25). The reported success rates of percutaneous retrieval of fractured fragment in the literature are between 71% and 100% (5,17,25).…”

“…Although, there are several available tools for retrieving intravascular foreign bodies from the vascular system, such as endovascular forceps, pigtail catheter, ablation catheter and retrieval baskets, snare-loop catheter is the most commonly used devise for intravascular catheter fragment retrieval (1,5,6,23). Additionally, the most often preferred access route is the right common femoral vein due to advantages such as convenience in handling material, access to main sites of venous foreign body migration, the possibility of using larger-calibre sheaths, easier puncture procedure, and safety of effective compression after the end of the procedure (17).…”