Korean J Radiol.  2010 Apr;11(2):195-202. 10.3348/kjr.2010.11.2.195.

Percutaneous Intervention in Axillary Loop-Configured Arteriovenous Grafts for Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Korea University, Korea.
  • 2Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Kangwon-do 200-947, Korea. deimos@kangwon.ac.kr
  • 3Department of General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, College of Medicine, Korea University, Korea.
  • 4Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Korea.

Abstract


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fistulographic features of malfunctioning axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts and the efficacy of percutaneous interventions in failed axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Ten patients with axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts were referred for evaluation of graft patency or upper arm swelling. Fistulography and percutaneous intervention, including thrombolysis, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent placement, were performed. Statistical analysis of the procedure success rate and the primary and secondary patency rates was done.
RESULTS
Four patients had graft related and subclavian venous stenosis, two patients had graft related stenosis and another four patients had subclavian venous stenosis only. Sixteen sessions of interventional procedures were performed in eight patients (average: 2 sessions / patient) until the end of follow-up. An interventional procedure was not done in two patients with central venous stenosis. The overall procedure success rate was 69% (11 of 16 sessions). The post-intervention primary and secondary patency rates were 50% and 63% at three months, 38% and 63% at six months and 25% and 63% at one year, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Dysfunctional axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts almost always had subclavian venous and graft-related stenosis. Interventional treatments are helpful to overcome this and these treatments are expected to play a major role in restoring and maintaining the axillary loop-configured arteriovenous loop grafts.

Keyword

Dialysis; shunt Graft; interventional procedure Veins; transluminal angioplasty

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Angioplasty, Balloon/*methods
Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical/*methods
Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation/*methods
Chronic Disease
Constriction, Pathologic/therapy/ultrasonography
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Graft Occlusion, Vascular/*therapy/ultrasonography
Humans
Kidney Failure, Chronic/*complications/therapy
Male
Middle Aged
*Renal Dialysis
Subclavian Vein/ultrasonography
Survival Analysis
Treatment Outcome
Vascular Patency

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