Over the last decade, procedures performed by interventional radiologists have become an increasingly attractive option for the retrieval of intravascular foreign bodies, avoiding open surgery. We present three cases of intravascular foreign body retrieval by the interventional radiology (IR), highlighting the importance of IR in managing these patients.

Case 1: Very rare self-inflicted injury with a sharp metal foreign body. Multidisciplinary team approach used to achieve successful endovascular retrieval, a true multi-disciplinary approach used.

Case 2: Retrieval of a misplaced guide wire during routine insertion of a central line. The wire was initially lying in the brachiocephalic vein but subsequently migrated down to the IVC at the time of removal.

Case 3: A tunneled central line fractured inside the chest. The distal fragment migrated from the right atrium into the right ventricle and was retrieved using an endovascular snare.

These cases highlight the cross-specialty role of IR, and the benefits of using a percutaneous endovascular approach over the more traditional method of open surgical removal.

 

Published on: May 01, 2019
doi: 10.17756/micr.2019-026
Citation: Cunliffe L, Shrinivastava V. 2019. The Role of Image Guided Minimal Access Surgery in Retrieving Intravascular Foreign Bodies: A Case Series. J Med Imaging Case Rep 3(1): 16-22.