Endovascular removal of long-term hemodialysis catheters

Central venous catheters that have been in place for a long time can become fixed to the vein wall, making them impossible to pull out. Leaving them in situ is undesirable because of the risk that they could act as a nidus for thrombosis. Moreover, inserting new catheters alongside the old ones might compromise flow in the superior vena cava, further predisposing to thrombosis. Surgical removal is likewise undesirable, as this would necessitate thoracotomy with the attendant risks. We describe a novel technique, which we were able to use to remove retained long-term hemodialysis catheters in a patient who needed new catheters and who would have been a high-risk candidate for surgery. The right internal jugular vein was punctured adjacent to the site of insertion and a guide wire was used to form a snare, which was passed around the catheters and used to saw through the fibrous attachments to the vein wall. The midsection of one catheter could not be freed but the snare was used to cut off the proximal and distal ends, which could then be removed, the latter via the femoral vein. New catheters were then inserted via the left internal jugular vein. This technique enabled successful catheter extraction and replacement in a patient who would have been a poor candidate for cardiothoracic surgery.