Catheter-induced pulmonary artery perforation during cardiac surgery: intraoperative surgical management

A case of pulmonary artery rupture due to Swan-Ganz catheterization is reported. A 73-year old women undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting developed massive endotracheal bleeding during weaning from the cardiopulmonary bypass and inflation of the balloon of the Swan-Ganz catheter. As bleeding could not be controlled by endobronchial Fogerty catheter blockade, resection of the lateral segment of the middle lobe was necessary before bypass could be terminated. The postoperative course was complicated by an abscess formation in the right middle lobe of the lung which required operative revision.