ABSTRACT

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) represents a valid alternative to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in many cases. The entrapment of the broken coronary angioplasty catheter is an uncommon complication of transluminal coronary angioplasty. This case study describes a patient who underwent emergent CABG as a result of an entrapped catheter which was broken in the left main and circumflex coronary arteries during the angioplasty procedure.