Objective: When an adequate cephalic vein is not available for fistula construction, surgeons often turn to basilic vein or prosthetic constructions. Single-stage forearm prosthetic hemodialysis accesses are associated with poor durability, and upper arm non-autogenous access options are often limited by axillary outflow failure, which inevitably drives transition to the contralateral arm or lower extremity. We hypothesized that initial creation of a modest flow proximal forearm arterial-venous anastomosis to dilate ("develop") inflow and outflow vessels, followed by a planned second-stage procedure to create a cannulation zone with a prosthetic graft in the forearm, would result in reliable and durable hemodialysis access in patients with limited options.
Methods: We performed an institutional cohort study from 2017 to 2021 using a prospectively maintained database supplemented with adjudicated chart review. Patients without traditional autogenous hemodialysis access options in the forearm underwent an initial non-wrist arterial-venous anastomosis creation in the forearm as a first stage, followed by a second-stage interposition graft sewn to the existing inflow and venous outflow segments to create a useable cannulation zone in the forearm while leveraging vascular development. Outcomes included time from second-stage access creation to loss of primary and secondary patency, frequency of subsequent interventions, and perioperative complications.
Results: The cohort included 23 patients; first-stage radial artery-based (74%) configurations were more common than brachial artery-based (26%). Mean age was 63 years (standard deviation, 14 years), and 65% were female. Median follow-up was 340 days (interquartile range [IQR], 169-701 days). Median time to cannulation from second-stage procedure was 28 days (IQR, 18-53 days). Primary, primary assisted, and secondary patency at 1 year was 16.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.3%-45.8%), 34.6% (95% CI, 15.2%-66.2%), and 95.7% (95% CI, 81.3%-99.7%), respectively. Subsequent interventions occurred at a rate of 3.02 (IQR, 1.0-4.97) per person-year, with endovascular thrombectomy with or without angioplasty/stenting (70.9%) being the most common. There were no cases of steal syndrome. Infection occurred in two cases and were managed with antibiotics alone.
Conclusions: For patients without adequate distal autogenous access options, staged prosthetic graft placement in the forearm offers few short-term complications and excellent durability with active surveillance while strategically preserving the upper arm for future constructions.
Keywords: Arteriovenous graft; Renal dialysis; Renal replacement therapy; Vascular patency.
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