Successful late non-surgical removal of intracardiac catheter fragment.

A patient was discovered to have a retained intracardiac catheter fragment more than two years after successful aortic valve replacement. During this time the patient had had extensive investigations and several hospital admissions for suspected subacute bacterial endocarditis, as well as for episodes of supraventricular tachycardia. The catheter fragment was successfully removed via a percutaneous catheter approach despite the very long interval that had elapsed since its detachment.