Pinch-off syndrome
A 42-year-old woman with cancer of the left breast had undergone breast conservative surgery on January 4, 2011. An implantable venous port was inserted through the right subclavian vein for adjuvant chemotherapy, and the location was confirmed by chest radiography (). There was no problem with the catheter location, but a pinch-off sign showed as a catheter deviation between the clavicle and the first rib. After the initial injection of chemotherapeutic agent, the patient did not experience pain or swelling, and because there was no problem with blood aspiration or flushing, chemotherapy was administered 3 times under close observation. Three months after the port insertion, the patient was hospitalized for the fourth adjuvant chemotherapy. A chest radiograph showed that the transected catheter had embolized to the right atrium (). The patient was referred to an interventional radiologist, and the embolized catheter was successfully removed via the percutaneous approach through the right internal jugular vein under fluoroscopic guidance (). The remaining implantable venous port was removed surgically.