Pigtail catheter

Pigtail catheter

Pigtail catheter is a left heart angiographic catheter. The curved tip reduces the chance of the jet of dye injected using a pressure injector from impinging on the wall and producing staining during left ventriculography. Multiple side holes distributes the pressure in various directions and reduces the catheter recoil and hence the chance for ventricular ectopy during pressure injection of dye for left ventriculography. But a pigtail catheter is not an ideal one to measure the pressure gradient by catheter pull back from left ventricle to aorta as the spatial dispersion of side holes prevents measurement of pressure at one location.

Angled pigtail catheter has an angle a few centimeters beyond the 8 side holes.

Grollman PA is an angled pigtail catheter with the curve generally on the reverse side. It is designed for right ventricular and pulmonary angiography by the femoral approach. It is used therapeutically for lysing clots in pulmonary embolism. Eppendorf catheter is the straight pigtail used for the same purpose.

Pigtail catheter is commonly used for draining a pericardial effusion. Catheters with same shape are used for drainage of pleural effusion, pneumothorax and ascites as well.  But they are usually of bigger diameter and shorter in length. Similar catheters are used for nephrostomy also.