Bronchoscopic removal of staple-line reinforcement material

We report a case of a 60-year-old man who presented with severe productive cough caused by an endobronchial foreign body, which was due to the migration of a staple-line reinforcement material (Seamguard, W.L.Gore & Associates, Inc., Flagstaff, AZ). This material was placed over 5 years ago during a right upper lobe lobectomy for a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, (T1N0M0). We were able to remove the entire staple line by performing 2 separate flexible bronchoscopic interventions during a 1-year period without any consequences, thereby preventing an open thoracotomy. Our technique involved trimming the projecting reinforcement material with endoscopic scissors and removing it by pulling or pushing the staple line with a grasping forceps. Three-dimensional computed tomographic scanning was useful to detect the exact anatomic location and relation of the bronchial airway, great vessels, and pulmonary tissue to the foreign body. The use of absorbable staple-line reinforcement could avoid such a complication.