Creation and use of a composite polyurethane-expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft for hemodialysis access.
The Thoratec (Vectra) polyurethane vascular access graft (TPVA) is among the most recent additions to the list of materials used to construct prosthetic grafts for vascular access during hemodialysis. We give the TPVA very high marks, and recognize the utility of such a graft for use in hemodialysis. However, the strong elasticity of this graft can lead to unexpected complications after suturing. We devised a new surgical method using a TPVA-ePTFE (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) composite graft, substituting the anastomosis section of the TPVA with a portion of ePTFE graft material, and have been able to overcome most of the TPVA's potential problems. We herein describe the technique.
Nakao
A
A
Department of Surgery, Okayama Saiwaicho Memorial Hospital, Japan.
Miyazaki
M
M
Oka
Y
Y
Matsuda
H
H
Oishi
M
M
Kokumai
Y
Y
Kunitomo
K
K
Isozaki
H
H
Tanaka
N
N
D000368:Aged; D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D019917:Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene; D011140:Polyurethanes; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011140:Polyurethanes; D011138:Polytetrafluoroethylene