Transthoracic 2D echocardiographic guidance for percutaneous removal of a nonopaque intracardiac catheter fragment.

A radiolucent fragment of a fractured central venous catheter embolized to the right heart resulting in life-threatening dysrhythmias in a middle-aged male patient who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation 1 day earlier. The fragment was removed via the right transjugular route using sonographic guidance to entrap the fragment with a brightly echogenic snare. The technique described protects the caval anastomoses in the liver transplant recipient and overcomes the limitation of fluoroscopy in removing radiolucent bodies.