The middle thyroid vein: an alternate route for central venous catheter insertion.

The technique for using the middle thyroid vein to insert infant central venous nutrition catheters is described. The middle thyroid vein is an alternate route of access to the central circulation when attempts to insert a central catheter through the external jugular vein are unsuccessful. Seventy percent of infants (11:16) had successful cannulations of their central venous circulation through the middle thyroid vein.