Successful removal of embolized chemoport catheter within the heart and pericardium: 3 case reports

Central venous access devices are routinely used in patients with cancer. Although rare, catheter transaction with subsequent embolization is one of the major complications of intra-vascular devices. We describe two patients with embolized chemoport catheters within the heart that were successfully removed percutaneously using a goose-neck snare technique. We also describe a third patient with a fractured intra-vascular catheter in the pericardium removed by pericardiotomy, which can be the first case of the kind.