Subcutaneous Infiltration of Indocyanine Green From a Malpositioned Intravenous Catheter

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a water-soluble, iodine-containing molecule with a wide variety of applications in various fields of medicine. In this paper, we report an adverse event of ICG infiltration into subcutaneous tissue from a malpositioned intravenous (IV) catheter. Although ICG can be injected intradermally and subcutaneously for sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer surgery, no reports exist regarding inadvertent infiltration from an IV catheter. It is our objective to provide an example should this unfortunate event occur in other populations, to describe the timing of resolution from infiltration, and to provide recommendations for future occurrences. In this case, the discoloration from infiltration became apparent on postoperative day one and had resolved completely at the time of the follow-up appointment on postoperative day 18.