Unrecognised guide wire migration during internal jugular cannulation and its retrieval--a case report

The objective of this article is to report a case of unrecognised missed guide wire diagnosed two months after right internal jugular cannulation and which was successfully retrieved from the right femoral vein.

The case record of a patient that had retained intravenous guide wire was reviewed with relevant literature.

A 40-yr-old female had an emergency left thoracotomy on account of haemorrhagic pleural effusion. A right internal jugular central venous catheter (CVC) insertion was performed for resuscitation and haemodynamic monitoring before induction of anaesthesia. A follow-up thoraco-abdominal Computed tomography (CT) scan taken after 8 weeks showed a pigtail intravascular metallic foreign body traversing the distal superior vena cava, right atrium, inferior vena cava, and ending at the right femoral vein. The guide wire was successfully removed via a right femoral venotomy under local anaesthesia.

Intravascular loss of a guide wire is a rare complication of CVC insertion. If basic precautionary measures were taken, the loss of guide wire would have been avoided.