Medium-term follow-up of forty autogenous vein and forty XXXX (Gore-Tex) grafts for vascular access.

@entity1 @entity548 @entity1373 @entity439 @entity736 @entity850 @entity715
Patency of 40 @entity736 ( @entity736 ) and 40 autogenous vein arteriovenous grafts for vascular access among 56 @entity1 is compared. Most @entity1 required access for hemodialysis, but six grafts were for other reasons including hyperalimentation and drug administration. Cumulative patency at 3 years for both PTFE grafts and vein grafts was 64%. The complication rate necessitating secondary operation was more than three times greater in the PTFE group in which 35 secondary procedures were needed. No grafts became infected as a result of the initial operation, but eight serious complications were associated with subsequent infection of PTFE grafts and three with vein grafts, including postcannulation @entity548 , abscess, and @entity439 . Twenty-six PTFE grafts developed associated @entity850 in the runoff vein. This was demonstrated with angiography in 10 and the stenoses were excised and grafted, one being dilated by intravascular balloon. In 16 @entity715 was the first indication of @entity850 . Histologically narrowed runoff veins showed @entity1373 . Runoff @entity850 did not occur among vein grafts, but in eight vein grafts themselves became stenotic. These results indicate that owing to a higher complication rate with PTFE grafts, vein grafts should be used when possible.
