Successful permanent catheter implantation after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty to the right subclavian and inominate vein stenosis in a hemodialysis patient.

Difficulties in gaining vascular access have become one of the major problems in long-term hemodialysis patients. We report a case with an extreme vascular access problem, which was solved by the placement of a permanent central vein catheter after successful angioplasty to the right subclavian and inominate vein stenosis. A 78-year-old woman with end-stage renal disease due to diabetic nephropathy had been on hemodialysis since 1982. She had a history of four procedures that created an arteriovenous fistula during the first four years. In 1986 she was switched to peritoneal dialysis. However, hemodialysis was restarted with a regular arteriovenous fistula in 1991 because of repeated peritonitis, and from 1993 a superficialized brachial artery was used until the artery was exhausted. Since 1997, a permanent central vein catheter was utilized and reinsertion was required four times due to catheter infection during a 6-year period. In 2004, difficulty was experienced in reinserting a new central venous catheter because of multiple stenotic and occlusive lesions of the central veins. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was carried out in the stenotic right subclavian and inominate veins, and after successful angioplasty, a permanent central vein catheter could be placed into the right subclavian vein as a vascular access for hemodialysis. Pretreatment with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the stenotic central veins before inserting a permanent catheter may be a useful strategy in patients that experience difficulty in the insertion of a catheter.