Introduction:

spontaneous central venous catheter migration is a rare complication of unknown cause that occurs in about 0.9 to 2 % of patients. Its etiopathogenesis is not very clear, however, it is associated with retching events and intense vomiting that can cause a temporary inversion of thoracic blood flow.

Case report:

women with a diagnosis of breast cancer, a catheter (port a cath) was placed for chemotherapy, 7 days later she was admitted to the emergency department due to pain in the left hemithorax, a chest computed tomography was performed, finding an image suggestive of migration of the breast. catheter tip, with management by thoracoscopy.

Discussion:

a central vascular access is important for patients who need to receive medical oncological treatment, being a common procedure that is currently related to greater comfort for the patient, since, once it is surgically inserted, it can be conveniently used several times. However, it is not without complications. These can be divided into early and late. The former may include arterial punctures, malpositions, pneumothorax or hemothorax, and infection and catheter thrombosis are the most common late complications. On the other hand, spontaneous migration of the catheter tip is reported as a rare complication.

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