Hemomediastinum resulting from subclavian artery laceration during internal jugular catheterization.

UNLABELLED: The complications associated with internal jugular vein catheterization are inadvertent arterial puncture, pleural and mediastinal injuries, pneumothorax, hemothorax, and hemomediastinum. Complications caused by laceration of a subclavian artery are rare. We present a case of hemomediastinum resulting from laceration of the subclavian artery during central venous catheterization. After right internal jugular vein catheterization, the left lateral decubitus position was maintained for 6 h during surgery. The severe hypotension was first noted in the supine position after transfer to the postanesthesia care unit. Chest radiograph showed a bulging of the right upper mediastinum. During the upper half sternotomy, a 5-mm long laceration was found at the posteroinferior side of the right subclavian artery near its origin from the innominate artery. IMPLICATIONS: The authors describe the delayed presentation of hemomediastinum resulting from subclavian artery laceration after internal jugular vein catheterization.