Interventional Techniques for Blood Clots

Interventional Techniques to Break Up the Clot Include

• Angioplasty
• Stenting
• Combination of drugs and mechanical devices to break up the clot, i.e., a pulse spray with a clot-dissolving drug (lytic agent)
• Lyse and wait thrombolysis (drug therapy alone)
• Balloon thrombectomy (clot removal) techniques
• Use of mechanical thrombectomy (suction) devices

The success of the interventional technique is dependent on removing the lesion that caused the blood clot/arterial plug.

Because of the clotting issues with dialysis grafts, a growing number of patients are having an arteriovenous fistula, which is a connection created surgically by joining a vein and an artery in the forearm that allows blood from the artery to flow into the vein, thus providing access for dialysis. Fistulas are considered the "gold standard" for maintaining access to a patient's circulatory system, to provide life-sustaining dialysis. They last longer, need less rework, and are associated with lower rates of infections, hospitalization and death than other types of access.