Identification of a retained intravascular wire by three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography.

A 78-year-old man with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for ischemic cardiomyopathy and prior ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation presented with abdominal pain and was found to have a small bowel obstruction requiring immediate surgery. His postoperative course was complicated by incessant VT leading to multiple ICD shocks. He was referred to our hospital for repeat VT ablation. TEE revealed a wire coiled in the right pulmonary artery. This is the first reported identification of an embolized wire by transesophageal three-dimensional echocardiography.