[Insertion procedure of the Swan-Ganz catheter]

The Swan-Ganz catheter (the pulmonary artery catheter: PAC) has been used to examine the heart diseases and to evaluate the hemodynamics by the physician in the catheter laboratory and beside the patient's bed. It is also used to monitor the hemodynamics during the cardiac surgery in the operating theater and to manage the patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) postoperatively. A very careful insertion technique is mandatory to avoid various serious complications, such as hematoma formation, arterial centesis, pneumothorax, hemothorax, perforation from cardiac chambers, rupture of the pulmonary artery, and so on. To reduce these complications, standardization of the insertion technique could be useful. When a complication unfortunately occurrs during insertion before surgery, it should be considered to abandon the following operation to avoid catastrophe.