Percutaneous retrieval of foreign bodies from the cardiovascular system.

The authors retrieved percutaneously an iatrogenic foreign body from the cardiovascular system in 10 patients without any complications. The Dormia basket catcher commonly used for stone extraction from the urinary tract was used in 9 out of 10 patients. The foreign body was extracted 6 times from the right atrium and once each from the pulmonary artery, the right ventricle, the iliac vein and the iliac artery. In view of the high rate of success of the transvasal retrieval and the absence of complications, practically every foreign body carried into the cardiovascular system represents an indication for its percutaneous extraction even in the case of not being opaque.