Umbilical venous catheter retrieval in a 970 gm neonate by a novel technique

Umbilical venous catheterization is a necessity for the advanced care of very low birth weight neonates. Even with utmost care, few complications cannot be avoided. Fractured and retained catheter fragments are one of them. Endoluminal retrieval of such a catheter is an uncommon and challenging procedure for the interventionist. The only alternative is an open exploration of these patients. Various techniques have been described for retrieval of such foreign bodies. We describe a novel technique for percutaneous retrieval of an embolized umbilical venous catheter from a very low birth weight neonate.