Percutaneous vein graft reanastomosis with use of a covered stent to salvage a thrombosed hemodialysis graft

Technical success rates for percutaneous restoration of thrombosed arteriovenous grafts are high. However, in thrombosed grafts without restorable original outflow veins, percutaneous salvage is usually not possible. In this situation, patients are referred for bypass grafting or recreation of their vascular access sites. This report describes a patient in whom the original outflow vein at the venous anastomosis was completely obliterated and in whom vascular access was successfully salvaged by percutaneously reanastomosing the venous stump of the thrombosed graft with an adjacent patent vein. This procedure is technically feasible for the salvage of a thrombosed graft.