Looping of a Pulmonary Artery Flotation Catheter around a Papillary Muscle

Abstract

CASE REPORT We report a rare but serious hazard associated with pulmonary artery flotation catheter insertion. The patient was a 75-year-old female anaesthetised for coronary artery bypass graft surgery. She had a readily visible goitre which was thought to have a retrosternal extension. An 8.5 Fr sheath was introduced into the right internal jugular vein at the level of the cricoid cartilage over a guidewire which initially passed posterior to the goitre. A 7.5 Fr pulmonary artery flotation catheter was advanced through the sheath and a right atrial *F.