[Successful percutaneous retrieval of a broken intravascular ultrasound catheter tip from the renal artery]

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) is widely used to assess the severity of coronary artery lesions. Fracture of the IVUS catheter in the coronary artery is very rare and embolization of a fractured segment into other organs has not been reported. A 41-year-old male patient underwent IVUS imaging for further assessment of a lesion detected angiographically in the left main coronary artery. During the procedure, the distal tip of the IVUS catheter fractured in the left main coronary artery. Percutaneous retrieval of the broken fragment was attempted using a coronary snare, but the fragment freed from the snare and embolized into the right renal artery. After placement of a right coronary guide wire catheter in the right renal artery, the fractured tip was captured with a coronary snare and was successfully retrieved.