Steiner S, Schwalen A, Heintzen M P, Strauer B E
Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf, Klinik für Kardiologie, Pneumologie und Angiologie.
Pneumologie. 2003 Jan;57(1):19-21. doi: 10.1055/s-2003-36636.
Embolisation of a foreign body is a rare cause of pulmonary embolism. We report on a 67 year old female suffering from colorectal cancer. To perform adjuvant chemotherapy a port system was inserted into the right subclavian vein. Routine chest radiography revealed a rupture of the venous port-system, which was embolised into the right pulmonary artery without clinical symptoms. The foreign body was removed without complications using a nitinol goose neck snare via a transfemoral approach and retrieved percutaneously. The reported procedure is safe, decreases operation and hospitalisation time and should therefore be performed in preference to surgical management whenever possible.