Complex endovascular retrieval of an intravascular foreign body

Abstract

We report a case of a 54-year-old man who developed bilateral multifocal pneumonia as a result of septic thromboembolization from an ingested ballpoint pen that migrated through the gastrointestinal system and lodged in the inferior vena cava. The ballpoint pen was removed from the inferior vena cava with a complex endovascular approach using internal jugular and common femoral vein access with the combination of a snare device and atraumatic laparoscopic grasper. He was also found to have a duodenal perforation requiring primary repair in a staged fashion after endovascular removal of the ballpoint pen.

Keywords

• Endovascular retrieval
• Foreign body
• Vascular surgery