The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 47, 455-457, Copyright © 1989 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Entrapment of broken guidewire in the left main coronary artery during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
GK Sethi, TB Ferguson Jr, G Miller and SM Scott
Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Asheville, North Carolina.
The distal end of a flexible, steerable guidewire broke during an attempted
percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty of the left anterior
descending coronary artery and was retained in the left main coronary
artery. It was successfully removed surgically. Etiology of, management of,
and precautions for avoiding this complication are discussed.