Central venous disease in hemodialysis patients: an update

Abstract

Central venous occlusive disease (CVD) is a common concern among the hemodialysis patient population, with the potential to cause significant morbidity. Endovascular management of CVD, comprising percutaneous balloon angioplasty and bare-metal stenting, has been established as a safe alternative to open surgical treatment. However, these available treatments have poor long-term patency, requiring close surveillance and multiple repeat interventions. Recently, covered stents have been proposed and their efficacy assessed for the treatment of recalcitrant central venous stenosis and obstruction. Moreover, newly proposed algorithms for the surgical management of CVD warrant consideration. Here, we seek to provide an updated review of the current literature on the various treatment modalities for CVD.