The basilic vein and the cephalic vein perform equally in upper arm arteriovenous fistulae.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the brachiocephalic (BC) and basilic vein transposition (BVT) arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with regard to maturation, patency, blood flow and complication rates.


METHODS
A retrospective chart review.


METHODS
Between January 2000 and December 2010, consecutive patients undergoing BC or BVT AVF were included. Patient characteristics were collected retrospectively from digital patient files and a prospective database of haemodialysis patients.


RESULTS
A total of 173 autologous upper arm AVFs (87 BC and 86 BVT) were created in 151 patients. Mean (±SEM) follow-up was 19 ± 1.4 months (range 0-100). There were no differences between the groups in respect to brachial artery and cubital fossa vein diameters, time to first use, flow and the number of secondary interventions. Operative time was significantly longer (P < 0.001) and the mid upper arm vein diameter before bifurcation greater (P = 0.038) in BVT patients. The 1- and 2-year primary patency rates for the whole cohort was 40.8% and 30.2% with secondary patency rates of 78.0% and 72.4%. There was no difference between the groups for these outcomes (P = 0.951, P = 0.516, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
With the exception of the efferent vein diameter in the mid upper arm and operative time, there was no difference between a BC and BVT AVF.
Department of Vascular Surgery, Maasstad Hospital, AC Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
N
N
Ayez
V A
VA
van Houten
A A
AA
de Smet
A M
AM
van Well
G P
GP
Akkersdijk
P J
PJ
van de Ven
B
B
Fioole
D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity; D016121:Brachiocephalic Veins / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000098:blood supply*; D014654:Vascular Patency