Michael Tesfaldet T, Banerjee Subhash, Brilakis Emmanouil S
Dallas VA Medical Center (111A), 4500 South Lancaster Road, Dallas, TX 75216, USA.
J Invasive Cardiol. 2012 Aug;24(8):E176-8.
Guide catheter kinking and fracture is an uncommon complication of percutaneous coronary intervention and may require emergency surgical intervention if percutaneous retrieval fails. We present a case of guide catheter kinking and fracture during attempts to engage the left main coronary artery in a patient with marked iliac tortuosity. The retained guide catheter fragment was retrieved percutaneously by using a snare from the contralateral femoral artery and removing the "folded-over" catheter fragment through the contralateral arteriotomy.
