[Successful retrieval of a portcatheter from the pulmonary artery]

We report on a 66-years-old oncological patient with a spontaneous dislocation of a portcatheter into the pulmonary artery. The catheter fragment had a loop formation, both ends were located in the proximal right segment arteries. The first attempt of a removal of the catheter via the right heart into the inferior caval vein by means of a hooked pulmonalis-catheter failed. In a second manoeuvre, the catheter fragment was successfully fixed by means of a catheter with an extendable loop configuration (goose-neck) and retrieved from the pulmonal artery into the inferior caval vein. Then, the entire system could be removed together with the introducer sheet under mild traction from the femoral vein without any complications. In conclusion, the percutaneous interventional method appears to be a minimally-invasive approach to deal with catheter fragments dislocated in the central veins and the pulmonary arteries.