Tricuspid valve Swan‐Ganz catheter entrapment before cardiac surgery

Summary A Swan‐Ganz catheter during cardiac surgery offers peri‐operative haemodynamic monitoring, although insertion of these catheters is not without risk. We report a case of Swan‐Ganz catheter entrapment within the tricuspid valve during elective off‐pump coronary artery bypass surgery. The diagnosis was made immediately by transoesophageal echocardiography, thus preventing forced withdrawal of the catheter. Intra‐operatively, the echocardiographically detected findings of complex entrapment was confirmed. The Swan‐Ganz catheter was tightly wrapped around the subvalvular apparatus, requiring on‐pump open surgical removal. This case illustrates the anatomical complexity of such a catheter entrapment around the tricuspid valve apparatus and the importance of rapid echocardiographic diagnosis to prevent iatrogenic damage.