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Femoral-to-Port Through-and-Through Wire Access to Reestablish Subcutaneous Port Function

¹ All authors: Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215.

OBJECTIVE. Central venous catheter malfunction often results from fibrin sheath formation and is routinely addressed with thrombolytic therapy or mechanical stripping. Mechanical stripping from a distant access site such as a femoral vein is the only option for a subcutaneous port that has failed thrombolytic therapy. When a fibrin sheath has rendered the catheter tip inaccessible to snaring, catheter salvage cannot be achieved, requiring port exchange. We report two cases in which an inaccessible catheter tip was mobilized via advancing a wire through the port and through the catheter, allowing for successful snaring, mechanical stripping, and return of normal port function.

CONCLUSION. Passage of a hydrophilic wire through a subcutaneous port and beyond the catheter tip is technically possible. The wire can be snared from a femoral access to achieve successful catheter stripping when direct catheter snaring is not possible.

Keywords: central venous devices • interventional radiology • venography

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