Successful retrieval of a coronary stent dislodged in the brachial artery by means of improvised snare and guiding catheter.

This is a case report regarding the retrieval, by means of an improvised snare and guiding catheter, of a stent dislodged in the brachial artery during a transradial coronary intervention. A full-length guiding catheter could not be used to approach the lost stent, which was a mere 30 to 35 cm away from the sheath insertion site at the radial artery, and a commercial snare was not available at the time. Thus, we had to improvise a shortened guiding catheter and a snare, which was formed by folding an angioplasty Whisper guide wire (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL) and was used successfully to snare the stent and retrieve it.