Percutaneous Retrieval of a Mobile Catheter Fragment From the Left Atrium Using a Biliary Basket

Numerous reports have described the recovery of objects that have embolized to the right heart, but this is the first known report of a freely mobile catheter fragment recovered percutaneously from the left atrium. The distal marker tip of an SL0 transseptal catheter fragmented after an atrial fibrillation ablation and remained as a highly mobile object within the left atrium. The successful percutaneous retrieval of this highly mobile fragment using a noncardiac general surgical instrument is presented. This is the first known case report describing the successful, percutaneous recovery of a freely mobile catheter fragment from the left atrium. Currently approved cardiac retrieval devices are inadequate for the retrieval of mobile objects from the left atrium. Catheterization laboratory emergencies might require the use of devices in an off-label and creative fashion, but patient safety must always be paramount.