Retrieval of Entrapped and Knotted Balloon-Tipped Catheters from the Right Heart

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Abstract
Entrapment and knotting of ballon-tipped catheters within the right heart are rare complications of hemodynamic monitoring. Depending on the nature of the problem, and the ingenuity of the investigators, various techniques have been used with success in overcoming these and other unfortunate events. This paper reports two instances of successful retrieval of percutaneously inserted 7 French balloon-tipped catheters in which one catheter remained entrapped in the right atrial wall during repair of atriotomy for cardiopulmonary bypass, and the other became knotted in the right atrium. A 39-year-old woman with severe mitral stenoisis was admitted for elective mitral valve replacement. Preoperatively,