| Theme |
Blood Access for Chronic Hemodialysis Therapy -- The Present Problems and New Developments |
| Title |
Graft materials for vascular access |
| Author |
Toshiyuki Hiranaka |
Department of Surgery, Kidney Center, Shirasagi Hospital |
| Author |
Masao Kim |
Department of Surgery, Kidney Center, Shirasagi Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
The purposes of this study were to review the history and characteristics of graft materials for vascular access. We retrospectively investigated the clinical outcome of patients who received four types of PTFE grafts at our institution, and reviewed the pertinent literatures on these four graft types. In addition to PTFE grafts, a polyurethane graft is available in Japan, and a bovine mesenteric vein graft has been used in other countries. Any advantages of these other grafts over PTFE grafts remain to be determined. The vast majority of PTFE access failure is caused by stenosis at the venous end of the graft. New advances in graft materials are expected to reduce venous stenosis. |