Unintended Delivery of Surgical Towel Fibers into a Vein Graft During Cardiac Catheterization

Foreign body introduction during coronary stent delivery is an uncommon, yet potentially fatal, complication of coronary angiography and interventions. Inadvertent introduction of gauze fibers, starch granules and other foreign materials into circulation has been reported in literature. The introduction of inorganic surgical debris can cause distal embolization, vessel occlusion and wall infiltration causing infarction, acute stenosis and granulomatous reaction. This report describes a case of successful extraction of inorganic blue filamentous material during coronary vein graft intervention detected as a filling defect in a filter during coronary vein graft intervention. The specimen represented fibers from blue surgical towels used on sterile field during cardiac catheterization.