Arteriovenous Graft with Traumatic Fistula

Background: Long-term hemodialysis (HD) treatment requires the establishment of a cannulatable vascular access (VA) point. While the arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is considered the gold standard, the arteriovenous graft (AVG) is a viable alternative especially in patients with poor superficial venous anatomy. Few studies have assessed the efficacy of the brachial-brachial arteriovenous graft (BB-AVG) for long-term HD access. By analyzing one surgeon’s experience in creating, surveilling and maintaining BB-AVGs, this retrospective study aims to add to the body of literature in assessing patency outcomes of BB-AVGs. Methods: We identified 57 BB-AVGs that met inclusion criteria and were created between October 6, 2005 and May 1, 2019 by a single surgeon in 54 patients. We analyzed primary failures, patency, complications and interventions. Patency rates were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. The incidence of complications and interventions were expressed as number of events per person-year. Results: A total of 54 patients (median age of 65 years) were analyzed. Primary patency rates at 12, 24, and 36 months were 20.4% 7.4%, and 5.0%. Primary assisted patency rates at 12, 24, and 36 months were 46.7%, 33.5%, and 15.1%. The secondary patency rates at 12, 24, and 36 months were 81.8%, 63.8%, and 60.1%, respectively. The incidence of complications and interventions was 2.164 per person-year. Most complications and interventions were due to stenosis (1.202 per person-year) or thrombosis (0.802 per person-year). Conclusion: In patients with poor superficial veins, the brachial vein is a reasonable alternative to use as the venous outflow. However, in order to achieve acceptable patency rates, close monitoring of the VA, as well as aggressive treatment of complications within the brachial vein is necessary. Overall, the BB-AVG should be considered in patients who lack adequate superficial veins and require preservation of the more proximal veins.

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Role of Doppler ultrasonography in the evaluation of hemodialysis arteriovenous access maturation and influencing factors

The Journal of Vascular Access ◽

10.1177/1129729820965064 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 112972982096506

Author(s):

Eva Chytilova ◽

Tamara Jemcov ◽

Jan Malik ◽

Jernej Pajek ◽

Branko Fila ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vascular Access ◽

Doppler Ultrasonography ◽

Arteriovenous Graft ◽

Central Venous ◽

Preoperative Mapping ◽

High Incidence ◽

Arteriovenous Access ◽

Ultrasound Parameters ◽

Fistula Maturation

The goal of vascular access creation is to achieve a functioning arteriovenous fistula (AVF) or arteriovenous graft (AVG). An autologous fistula has been shown to be superior to AVG or to central venous catheters (CVCs) with lowest rate of re-intervention, but vessel obstruction or immaturity accounts for 20 % to 54% of cases with primary failure of AVF. This review is focused on the factors influencing maturation; indication and timing of preoperative mapping/creation of vascular access; ultrasound parameters for creation AVF/AVG; early postoperative complications following creation of a vascular access; ultrasound determinants of fistula maturation and endovascular intervention in vascular access with maturation failure. However, vascular accesses that fail to develop, have a high incidence of correctable abnormalities, and these need to be promptly recognized by ultrasonography and managed effectively if a high success rate is to be expected. We review approaches to promoting fistula maturation and duplex ultrasonography (DUS) of evaluating vascular access maturation.

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Effectiveness and safety of repeated percutaneous intervention in an office-based endovascular center in maintaining hemodialysis access

Vascular ◽

10.1177/17085381211004306 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 170853812110043

Author(s):

Jay Patel ◽

Stephanie Chang ◽

Shaan Manawar ◽

John Munn ◽

Mark C Rummel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Percutaneous Intervention ◽

Dialysis Access ◽

Arteriovenous Graft ◽

Hemodialysis Access ◽

Upper Arm ◽

Access Site ◽

Arteriovenous Fistulas ◽

Arteriovenous Grafts ◽

The Mean

Objectives Percutaneous dialysis access interventions are routinely used to maintain the patency of dialysis access despite the lack of data regarding their long-term effectiveness. This retrospective study was undertaken to study the effectiveness and safety of percutaneous dialysis access interventions in arm fistulas and bridge grafts in an office-based endovascular center. Methods Patients who had a percutaneous dialysis access intervention in their upper extremity access site, performed at a single office-based endovascular center over a nine-year period (2007–2016) were included in this study. The patients’ demographic factors, patency, and complications were analyzed. Patients were entered in the study after first percutaneous dialysis access intervention. Results A total of 298 limbs in 259 patients had 913 procedures carried out over a nine-year period. There were 190 access arteriovenous fistulas and 108 arteriovenous grafts. The two most common arteriovenous fistulas were the brachiocephalic fistula ( n = 74, 39%) and radio cephalic fistula ( n = 69, 36%). Arteriovenous grafts were most commonly placed in the upper arm ( n = 66, 61%) followed by the forearm ( n = 42, 39%). The mean overall patency for all limbs was 50.86 months. Arteriovenous fistulas had a significantly longer patency than arteriovenous grafts (51.65 vs. 42.09 months; P = 0.01). In addition, patients with two or more percutaneous dialysis access intervention in their arteriovenous fistula had significantly greater patency than those with only one percutaneous dialysis access intervention (58.5 vs. 7.6 months; hazard ratio 0.41; P = 0.0008). This was not true for the arteriovenous graft group. Women represented 49% of the patient group. Their accesses had shorter patency than men (39.8 vs. 60 months; P = 0.0007). Conclusions This data support the use of repeated percutaneous dialysis access intervention to maintain long-term patency of dialysis access sites in an office-based endovascular center. Overall, fistulas have longer patency than grafts and women have poorer outcomes as compared to men

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