Late stent migration into the right ventricle in a patient with nutcracker syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Stent migration into the right ventricle is rare in patients treated with endovenous stenting, but can have potentially serious complications including endocarditis, cardiac arrhythmias, and heart failure.

METHODS: We present a case of stent migration into the right ventricle 5 months after stent placement in a patient with nutcracker syndrome.

RESULTS: Echocardiography revealed a stent caught within the subvalvular chordal structures, with significant tricuspid regurgitation. Subsequent severe damage to the tricuspid apparatus necessitated prosthetic valve replacement, as tricuspid valvuloplasty failed after stent removal.

CONCLUSIONS: Because stent migration is a potential complication in left renal vein stenting that can occur up to 5 months after intervention therapy, follow-up using ultrasonography is necessary. In addition, knowing the precise location of the stent, which is important for subsequent treatment, is essential when transabdominal ultrasonography reveals the absence of the stent in the left renal vein.