Pinch-off syndrome
A 56-year-old woman with stomach cancer had undergone gastrectomy on December 31, 2007. After the operation, an implantable venous port was inserted through the right subclavian vein, and adjuvant chemotherapy was administered 6 times without any unusual complications. The patient had follow-ups on a regular basis, and the port was removed 18 months after its insertion. Part of the catheter was fractured and had embolized the right atrium and inferior vena cava, which was confirmed by chest radiography after the procedure (). In a retrospective review of the patient's chest radiographs, a pinch-off sign was noted in the chest radiograph taken immediately after the port insertion and the catheter's course was deviated by the clavicle (). During the adjuvant chemotherapy and outpatient follow-up observations, the patient did not complain of any pain or swelling, and there was no unusual problem with drug administration through the port. Transection of the catheter is assumed to have occurred at the end of the adjuvant chemotherapy, which was 6 months after the port insertion, but the exact time was impossible to confirm. The patient was referred to an interventional radiologist, and the embolized catheter was successfully removed by a percutaneous approach through the right internal jugular vein under fluoroscopic guidance ().