Background: Central venous cannulation is a common procedure undertaken for critically ill patient. Many complication of the procedure has been reported but complete migration of guide wire into vascular system requiring
surgical retrieval has not been reported.
Case Report: We describe a case of an 82-year-old lady who underwent internal jugular vein cannulation in surgical ward. During the procedure the guide wire got lost into the vascular system. The radiological retrieval of
guide wire from the venous system failed. The guide wire was retrieved by exposing the femoral vein into right groin and the wire was removed trough the long saphenous vein.
Conclusion: Internal jugular vein cannulation should be done by an experienced person. Although loss of guide wire into vascular system is rare but it can happen. If radiological retrieval fails the guide wire can be safely removed through a groin incision if the end of the guide wire is in femoral vein.

Keywords: central venous cannulation, complication, guide wire