Background: A retained coronary guidewire following coronary angiography is an extremely rare complication. We present a case of a retained coronary guidewire from a percutaneous coronary intervention done 2 years ago.
Case summary: An 80-year-old asymptomatic man with a history of ischemic heart disease and moderate aortic stenosis presented to the echocardiography lab for routine follow-up. Transthoracic echocardiography showed Moderate aortic stenosis and a suspected linear echogenic structure in the ascending aorta. trans-esophageal echocardiography was performed to reveal a mobile and linear echogenic structure originating from the sinuses of Valsalva/Sinotubular junction and extending to the ascending aorta. An electrocardiogram gated cardiac computed tomography was performed and showed A linear well-defined structure originating from the ostium of the left main coronary artery and extending to the ascending aorta-a coronary guidewire from an earlier procedure. A second look at the last invasive coronary angiography record demonstrated the same finding. A multidisciplinary heart team discussion was obtained and concluded that the risk of surgical or endovascular intervention outweighed the potential benefit. The patient was discharged home for a close clinical and echocardiographic follow-up.
Discussion: A retained coronary guidewire is a rare complication that operators should be aware of. Management should be case-specific depending on clinical presentation.
Keywords: Aortic dissection; Cardiac computed tomography; Case report; Coronary guidewire; Echocardiography.
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.