Removal of Retained Port-A Catheter in Central Lines in a Pediatric Population

Port-A catheter implantation is relatively easy and safe in today's medical practice. However, there are still occasional reports about retained Port-A catheter fragments and their retrieval in adult patients. This kind of problem is also encountered in pediatric patients, but they seldom receive intervention for retained catheter fragment removal. We present four cases of retained Port-A catheter in the superior vena cava and suggest that when manual extraction of Port-A is not feasible, angiographic-assisted device removal can safely be used to accomplish the task.