Percutaneous Retrieval of a Fragmented Port-a-Cath With the Snaring Technique

Long-term use of central venous catheters is common in cancer patients for chemotherapy. The remaining of these catheters after the end of the treatment period can be associated with complications such as thrombosis and catheter fragmentation.

This report presents a 42-year-old woman with a history of colon cancer whose inner part of the vascular access was detached from the outer part after removing the central venous catheter, and the catheter remained inside the internal jugular vein. After preparing the patient’s chest X-ray, the catheter was removed from the femoral vein by percutaneous retrieval and successfully taken out using the snaring technique.

Overall, percutaneous retrieval is a safe way to remove intravascular foreign bodies that can prevent major surgical complications.