Improved hemodialysis access in children

Vascular access for chronic hemodialysis in children is difficult because of problems that include obtaining vessels of sufficient size, the limited life-span of external shunts, and the multiple painful punctures associated with internal fistulae. Twenty-five expanded polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) grafts of 6-mm diameter were inserted for dialysis access over a 2-yr period in 23 children. Grafts were placed either in the upper arm or thigh. Each patient was successfully dialyzed from 60 to 370 times. Longterm patency of the PTFE grafts was 88%, with a complication rate of 36%, mostly minor. The same ease of insertion and high flow characteristics were noted in a series of 22 bovine carotid heterograft (BCH) fistulae inserted in the two years immediately preceeding this study. However, the patency rate was only 36% and the complication rate was 69%, mostly major. We consider the PTFE graft fistula to be the preferred method for long-term hemodialysis access in children.