Retrieval of broken paravertebral catheter by video-assisted thoracic surgery.

A paravertebral catheter was placed in a 34-year-old man to provide analgesia after a right upper lobectomy. On removal, the catheter broke within the chest wall. Although bedside exploration and computed tomography scanning failed to locate it, the 13-cm long retained fragment was easily retrieved by video-assisted thoracic surgery, using a single-port technique.