Shearing of a Pulmonary Artery Introducer Venous Sheath and Successful Surgical Retrieval: A Case Report

Invasive hemodynamic monitoring with a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is not uncommon in cardiac surgery.Unlike the less invasive forms of hemodynamic monitoring, PACs require a good understanding of cardiopulmonary physiology, anatomy, and the potential for complications to correctly insert and interpret the data.A sheared pulmonary artery (PA) catheter sheath and migration of a fragment of sheath may be associated with potentially fatal complications.We report one case of surgical retrieval of the indwelling part of a PA catheter introducer venous sheath.We had inserted a PA introducer sheath in the right internal jugular vein of a 66-year-old male patient undergoing minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery, which got severed and was timely retrieved surgically.