A wandering stent in the ascending aorta.

A 15-year-old girl underwent patch aortoplasty for repair of a long-segment coarctation of the aorta 7 years ago. Balloon angioplasty had been performed twice, 3 and 5 years after the aortoplasty, because of recurrent coarctation of the aorta. She was scheduled for balloon angioplasty and stent implantation. In catheterization, there was 55 mmHg gradient between ascending and descending aorta and the angiography showed long-segment coarctation of the aorta, from the transverse aorta, after the innominate artery, to the descending aorta, after the left subclavian artery. During the final pressure measurement, in the catheterization laboratory, the stent was dislodged proximally and trial for reimplantation or retrieval failed. Echocardiography showed the trapped stent in the ascending aorta. She was taken to the operating room, where the stent was removed and the aortic arch was reconstructed from the innominate artery to the distal part of the subclavian artery, using a Dacron patch.