Bovine artegraft arteriovenous fistulas for hemodialysis in one-hundred patients after "conventional" arteriovenous fistulas failed.

The use of the Bovine artegraft for creation of arteriovenous fistulas in the hemodialysis patients was first carried out in the midsummer of 1971. Since that time, there has been considerable material reported in the use of this substitute as an access for hemodialysis. In this article information gained from an ongoing study of the first 100 patients in chronic hemodialysis who had Bovine artegraft arteriovenous fistulas was reviewed. The indications for operation, the standard technique, the results, the complications, and the future plans for study of the physiology and hemodynamics of this type of fistula are described. The Bovine artegraft, AV fistula can be created successfully in a high percentage of patients, offers ease of needle placement, and effective dialysis with very little complication.