Surgical removal of an intravascular ultrasonography catheter captured in a stent after percutaneous coronary intervention.

A-79-year-old woman underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to the right coronary artery (RCA) for effort angina, followed by intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS) to ascertain stent expansion. The IVUS catheter became entangled in the stent and could not be withdrawn from the outside. The patient was transferred to our hospital for its surgical removal. For the emergent surgery, we opened the stent region in the RCA and directly removed the IVUS catheter with the twisted stent. Additional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) involving three vessels was performed. She was discharged 42 days after surgery.