Endovascular intervention for central venous stenosis in hemodialysis patients: A single-center experience

Central venous stenosis (CVS) refers to a significant stenosis of a large intrathoracic vein, such as the subclavian, brachiocephalic, or the superior vena cava (hemodialysis, HD). Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with or without stent placement has been the recommended as the preferred approach to CVS. A total of 10 consecutive HD patients with documented CVS over a 2-year time period from April 2017-April 2019 underwent percutaneous angioplasty and stent insertions under sedation. The procedure was performed by the interventional cardiologist in the institute. One patient underwent only PTA, whereas nine (90%) had PTA with primary stent insertion. Primary patency was 90% at 3 months, 80% at 6 months while at 12 months, it was 70% and remained at 70% at 24 months. We did not find any association between age, gender, diabetic status, dialysis vintage, or previous catheter infection with procedural patency. Central venous stenosis can be treated successfully with percutaneous angioplasty and primary stenting. Despite advances, prevention of CVS should be the primary approach.