You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.


ABOUT ARCHIVES
Advanced Search

Welcome   | My Account | E-mail Alerts | Access Rights | Sign In


  Vol. 139 No. 2, February 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS
  Archives
  •  Online Features
  Original Article
 This Article
 •Full text
 •PDF
 •Send to a friend
 • Save in My Folder
 •Save to citation manager
 •Permissions
 Citing Articles
 •Citation map
 •Citing articles on HighWire
 •Citing articles on ISI (20)
 •Contact me when this article is cited
 Related Content
 •Similar articles in this journal
 Topic Collections
 •Dialysis
 •Vascular Surgery
 •Alert me on articles by topic

Outcomes of Upper Arm Arteriovenous Fistulas for Maintenance Hemodialysis Access

Jason T. Fitzgerald, MD; Andres Schanzer, MD; Andrew I. Chin, MD; John P. McVicar, MD; Richard V. Perez, MD; Christoph Troppmann, MD

Arch Surg. 2004;139:201-208.

Hypothesis  Radiocephalic fistulas for maintenance hemodialysis access are not feasible in all patients with end-stage renal disease. Our aim was to review our experience with 3 types of upper arm arteriovenous fistula (AVF) to ascertain whether they are reasonable alternatives to radiocephalic fistulas and which, if any, have superior performance.

Patients and Methods  Patient medical records were retrospectively reviewed. The main outcomes were maturation rate, time to maturation, assisted maturation rate, complication rates, reintervention rates, primary and assisted primary patency rates, and effects of comorbidities.

Results  Eighty-six patients with end-stage renal disease underwent creation of a brachiocephalic, brachiobasilic, or brachial artery–to–median antecubital vein AVF. Overall, 80% matured, with 23% requiring an intervention to achieve maturity. The mean time to maturation was 3.8 months; 47% had a complication (inability to access, thrombosis, and so on), and 43% required additional interventions. The overall primary patency and assisted primary patency rates at 12 months were 50% and 74%, respectively. Brachiobasilic AVFs not superficialized immediately often needed a second operation. There were no significant differences in patency rates among the 3 AVF types. The AVFs in patients with diabetes took 2 months longer to mature than did those in patients without diabetes.

Conclusions  An upper arm AVF is a reasonable alternative for maintenance hemodialysis access when a radiocephalic AVF is not possible. There are 3 valid options from which to choose to best accommodate each patient's antecubital anatomy. Diabetes may adversely affect outcomes. Our data suggest that brachiobasilic AVFs should be superficialized at the initial procedure, if feasible.


From the Departments of Surgery (Drs Fitzgerald, Schanzer, McVicar, Perez, and Troppmann) and Medicine (Dr Chin), University of California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, Calif.



THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Dynamic MR Angiography of Upper Extremity Vascular Disease: Pictorial Review
Stepansky et al.
RadioGraphics 2008;28:e28-e28.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Fistula First Initiative: Advantages and Pitfalls
Lok
CJASN 2007;2:1043-1053.
FULL TEXT  

Novel Repair of Venous Aneurysms Secondary to Arteriovenous Dialysis Fistulae
Pierce et al.
VASC ENDOVASCULAR SURG 2007;41:55-60.
ABSTRACT  

Endovascular Treatment of the "Failing to Mature" Arteriovenous Fistula
Nassar et al.
CJASN 2006;1:275-280.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  





HOME | CURRENT ISSUE | PAST ISSUES | TOPIC COLLECTIONS | CME | SUBMIT | SUBSCRIBE | HELP
CONDITIONS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US | SITE MAP
 
© 2004 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.