A case report of entrapped angioplasty balloon in circumflex coronary artery

Entrapment of coronary angioplasty hardware during coronary artery interventions is rare but in most cases requires prompt treatment. This article reported a case of 65-year-old woman who underwent a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty to the circumflex artery. A ruptured angioplasty balloon was entrapped in the circumflex artery with proximal end of the guidewire placed in the descending aorta. The patient underwent surgical removal of the foreign body and coronary artery bypass grafting. The case and the management are discussed. Keywords: Angioplasty; coronary artery bypass; equipment failure; angioplasty balloon.