Cutting balloon angioplasty for undilatable venous stenoses causing dialysis graft failure

Dialysis fistulas and bridge grafts frequently develop outflow stenoses in the venous limb, leading to graft failure. The venous stenoses are fibrotic and require percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with high-pressure balloons. We have encountered venous stenoses in 3 out of 219 hemodialysis patients with graft failure that were undilatable with 6-8 mm high-pressure balloons inflated to more than 24 atm. In each of these cases, treatment with a 4 mm cutting balloon successfully facilitated subsequent balloon dilation at lower pressures.