The value of the pulmonary-artery-seeking catheter in percutaneous selective pulmonary arteriography.

Selective catheterization of the main pulmonary artery via the percutaneous route using a pulmonary-artery-seeking catheter was successful in 98.4% of 122 consecutive pulmonary angiographic studies in 114 patients. Complications were comparable to those encountered in other studies. Myocardial perforation, a frequently reported complication, did not occur, a factor attributed to the "pigtail" design of the catheter. This catheter was found to offer a distinct advantage in performing percutaneous selective pulmonary arteriography.