Treatment of Arteriovenous Fistula Failure: Surgical Revision Versus Interventional Radiologic Procedure A prospective randomized study on secondary angioaccess procedure

ABSTRACT

There are over 10,000 individuals in Korea who require chronic hemodialysis treatment. Vascular access with an adequate blood flow and good long-term patency are important to have adequate dialysis. Thrombosis is the most common cause of angioaccess failure and is usually due to outflow stenosis. A thrombolysis using urokinase has been used frequently in recent years for treatment of a thrombosis, but its efficacy is not well documented in the literature. The authors report a prospective randomized study comparing a surgical revision versus a thrombolysis with and without luminal balloon angioplasty. The long-term patency and the total cost of treatment to the patient were compared.