Fracture of a perfusion balloon catheter during coronary angioplasty.

In a 74-year-old patient with increasing angina, an attempt was made to dilate an ostial stenosis in the first diagonal artery. The initial attempt with a long balloon catheter was unsuccessful. Because of chest pain associated with hypotension during balloon inflations, a second attempt with a perfusion balloon catheter resulted in fracture of this catheter's tip (14 mm long) in the artery. Bypass graft surgery was performed and the retained fragment was easily removed by arteriotomy. The patient made an uneventful recovery.