Balloon Angioplasty Versus Surgical Revision for Thrombosed Dialysis Graft Outlet Stenosis After Graft Thrombectomy

Abstract

Background: It is important to correct underlying graft outlet stenosis after thrombectomy of dialysis grafts. This study retrospectively reviewed patients who received dialysis graft thrombectomy at this institution to compare the effectiveness of 2 different methods. Methods and Results: A total of 289 dialysis graft thrombectomy procedures performed during 2001-2003 were retrospectively reviewed. The results of 163 cases in balloon angioplasty group were compared with those of 129 patients who underwent outlet revision. Patient characteristics between the 2 groups were similar with regard to demographic characteristics and comorbidities (P > .05). The mean primary patency of balloon and revision groups are 7.23 ± 7.38 and 8.35 ± 9.53 (months), respectively. Survival curves for each group were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. There was no difference between 2 groups regarding graft patency. Conclusions: The result of dialysis graft outlet balloon angioplasty was comparable to that of surgical revision. Considering the invasiveness, balloon angioplasty should be considered when treating thrombosed dialysis grafts.