Abstract
Difficult removal of epidural catheter is a rare complication of epidural anesthesia. If a catheter is removed with excessive force, it can be broken and left in a patient's body. We report a case in which 3D-CT was useful when removing an epidural catheter was difficult. As epidural catheter was not removed in any direction after surgery, we performed computed tomography and constructed 3-dimensional images from CT. From 3D-CT, we determined that the catheter was fixed in the right intervertebral joint at the Th5/Th6 inter space. We therefore pulled the epidural catheter toward the left side and removed it successfully without breaking it.
Three dimensional CT is useful to confirm an epidural catheter's position when it is difficult to remove.
