title: Entrapping of the clotted intra-aortic balloon in the descending aorta.
abstract: Percutaneous insertion of a catheter for intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP) was introduced in 1979 by Bregman and Casarella and has become a popular technique. Rupture of the balloon, allowing clot to form inside it, is rare. When the clot is large, it may cause entrapping of the balloon. This is a potentially dangerous complication of IABP. We are aware of only one case report of this complication, by Aru and co-workers. The entrapping of the balloon in their report occurred at the site of insertion in the femoral artery. We report here a case in which the entrapping occurred in the descending aorta, and its removal required extensive exposure of the aortic bifurcation.
authors.affiliation: Royal Brompton, London, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shafei
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lennox
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007423:Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumping / Q000009:adverse effects*