The use of endo-vascular balloon tamponade technique for the removal of a misplaced nephrostomy tube in the inferior vena cava: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Inadvertent placement of a nephrostomy tube into the inferior vena cava (IVC) is an extremely rare complication with few reported cases in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a lady with obstructive uropathy in a solitary kidney in whom an attempt by the community radiologist to place a nephrostomy tube was complicated by wrong insertion into the IVC. This report illustrates how a safe non- surgical removal of this tube using an intravenous balloon tamponade technique was successfully applied. DISCUSSION: Intravenous placement of nephrostomy catheters into the inferior vena cava is extremely rare complication. A few case reports have been published in the literature. The majority of these cases were removed in the operating room under general anesthesia. Using Intravenous balloon tamponade technique for removal has not been previously reported. CONCLUSION: Intravenous balloon tamponade technique is effective and is a good minimally invasive alternative to surgical removal of misplaced nephrostomy tube from IVC.