ABSTRACT
The acquisition of short-and long-term access to the venous circulation is essential to the successful management of acute and chronic conditions in infants and children. It is a task undertaken by most clinicians in many subspecialties, but it is a mandatory skill that should fall within the remit of all paediatric surgeons. Although considered to be a straightforward procedure in adult medicine, gaining vascular access is often the rate-limiting step in paediatric practice and perhaps one of the most potentially distressing events for child and parent alike.
