Treating hemodialysis access thrombosis with the InThrill Thrombectomy System: Technique and case report

The purpose of this report is to describe via a case example an efficient mechanical thrombectomy technique for hemodialysis access thrombosis using the InThrill Thrombectomy System (Inari Medical, Irvine, CA). A man in his late 60s with end-stage renal disease and a thrombosed femoral arteriovenous graft (AVG) underwent a thrombectomy procedure to remove all thrombotic material including the arterial plug and restore use of the graft for hemodialysis. The InThrill Thrombectomy System used in this procedure consists of a mechanical thrombectomy catheter with a wall-apposing coring element and a sheath with a retractable funnel and aspiration port. The technique starts with gaining wire and sheath access towards the venous outflow. The InThrill Thrombectomy catheter is deployed proximal to the sheath to sequentially remove small segments of thrombus thus avoiding sheath obstruction. A locking syringe is used for rapid aspiration, reducing or eliminating the need to remove the InThrill sheath with every mechanical thrombectomy pass. Finally, the arterial plug is pulled using a Fogarty balloon sheath (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) and extracted using the InThrill catheter, removing what may be the nidus for recurrent AV access thrombosis. The technique described here provided a means to remove all thrombotic material including the arterial plug in a planned, sequential manner, without the need for thrombolytics. Patency was restored to the patient's femoral AVG within 60 minutes, and hemodialysis resumed shortly thereafter. Further studies are needed to support long-term efficacy of this thrombolytic-free treatment option.