Single-center results of a series of prosthetic axillary-axillary arteriovenous access grafts for hemodialysis.

OBJECTIVE: Prosthetic infraclavicular axillary-axillary arteriovenous access grafts are one of a number of complex dialysis access options in patients when all of the usual upper limb possibilities have been exhausted. We present a follow-up of 35 patients who received this access graft during a 9-year period.

METHODS: Patients were identified from our own operation records. Follow-up data were gathered from their locally held electronic medical records. Primary and secondary patency were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimate.

RESULTS: During the study period, 15 of the 35 patients in our cohort underwent one or more revision operations. Primary patency was estimated at 88% at 6 months, and the secondary patency rate estimate was 54% at 48 months. Twelve patients died during the study period; the grafts in 17 of the 23 remaining patients were in use at the conclusion of the study.

CONCLUSIONS: Although this is a small cohort, our results suggest that prosthetic axillary-axillary arteriovenous access should be at least considered as a viable long-term option for hemodialysis patients.