Central venous catheter placement in the inferior vena cava via the direct translumbar approach

The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical aspects and efficacy of placing tunneled central venous access catheters (CVA) in the inferior vena cava (IVC) via a direct translumbar approach. Between August 1994 and July 1998, 50 CVA (Hickman 13.5 F) were placed in the IVC via a direct translumbar approach in 46 patients (10 males, 36 females) with a mean age of 39.9 years (age range 10-87 years). The indications were chemotherapy administration plus leukoaphoresis (n = 39), bone marrow transplantation (n = 2) and hemodialysis (n = 5). The reasons for placing the CVA in the IVC were cosmetic (n = 34), supradiaphragmatic venous thrombosis (n = 8), previous catheter infection (n = 2), and non-functioning arteriovenous fistula (n = 2). There were no immediate complications. The mean period of time the CVA was in place was 3 months (15 days to 15 months), during which the function was excellent. The commonest late complication was infection (4 local, 6 bacteremia). Others included: pain (n = 2), ureteric fistula (n = 1), pericatheter fibrin sheath formation (n = 6) and catheter-tip impaction (n = 2). Two catheters were damaged due to postprocedural inappropriate manipulations and two others fell off due to incorrect fixation. Due to these complications, it was necessary to remove ten catheters, replace an additional four and reposition two. Direct translumbar catheterization of the IVC is a safe and effective way of placing a long-term CVA with a moderate complication rate.