Delayed cephalic arch rupture following balloon angioplasty

Background Vascular access care comes with its substantial cost that include but not limited to poor blood flow during dialysis, stenosis throughout the dialysis circuits, aneurysmal dilatation, clots formation and complete thrombosis. Acute cephalic arch rupture is not that uncommon but delayed rupture is rare presentation that was not discussed previously. Case presentation We describe a case of a 70-year-old female with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing a fistulogram and angioplasty of cephalic arch stenosis that resulted in a small vessel rupture that was successfully treated with prolonged balloon inflation initially. Unfortunately, this was complicated with massive venous rupture after initiating hemodialysis. The diseased segment was successfully treated with covered stent placement. This paper review and discuss cephalic arch stenosis, clinical presentation, and available initial and bailout treatment strategies. Conclusions Primary management of cephalic arch rupture is a prolong-low pressure balloon angioplasty, with covered stent across the site of extravasation if persisted. This case depicted a delayed vascular rupture following hemodialysis in patient with previously controlled extravasation that necessities covered stent placement. No data in the literature suggested the time that is required to avoid dialysis and improve healing.