Introduction: Central venous catheter placement is a routine procedure for the management of critically ill patients; however, it is important to ensure its proper placement. A central venous catheter malposition may cause various complications, some of which can be fatal.
Case presentation: We report an unexpected malposition of a catheter in the left internal jugular vein, where it entered into the left internal mammary vein.
Conclusions: We think one of the influential factors for leading a guidewire and catheter into a nominated vein may be the left sided bevel of the needle at the time of internal jugular vein needle and catheter insertion. We were required to continue going towards the subclavian vein and accidentally turned into the left internal mammary vein.
Keywords: Catheters; Catheters, Indwelling; Central Venous Catheter; Vascular Access Devices; Venous Pressure.