Supraclavicular subclavian vein catheterization: the forgotten central line.

While the supraclavicular approach to the subclavian vein has been described since 1965, it is generally employed much less often than the "traditional" infraclavicular approach. Although randomized trials are lacking, the best evidence suggests that the supraclavicular approach has a number of important advantages to the infraclavicular approach. The landmarks and relative merits of the procedure are described in this paper.