Introduction: The traditional sutured venous anastomosis used during arteriovenous graft implantation is associated with a high incidence of subsequent stenosis that is attributed to neointimal hyperplasia. Hyperplasia results from multiple factors, including hemodynamic abnormalities and vessel trauma during implantation. A novel anastomotic connector device was designed to provide an alternative, less traumatic, endovascular venous anastomosis that may ameliorate the clinical challenges associated with a sutured anastomosis. A prospective single-arm multicenter study was performed to evaluate safety and effectiveness of graft implantation using the study device.
Methods: Patients requiring graft creation and who met the study criteria were enrolled between February 2018 and July 2021 and observed for 6 months. Collected data included baseline characteristics, graft patency and use for hemodialysis, graft interventions, and adverse events. The primary study endpoint was cumulative graft patency, compared to a pre-specified Performance Goal of 75%. Secondary endpoints included primary unassisted patency and serious adverse events, defined as the occurrence of death, graft infection, emergent surgery, significant bleeding, and pseudoaneurysm.
Results: A total of 158 patients were enrolled from 10 study sites, among which 144 subjects were evaluable at 6 months and 14 were censored with partial follow-up observation. Three patients died and the graft was abandoned in 12. The primary endpoint was met (p-value < 0.001). By Kaplan Meier survival analysis, cumulative patency was 92.08% with a lower 95% Confidence Bound of 86.98%. Primary unassisted patency was 60.21% with a lower 95% Confidence Bound of 50.84%. Graft infections occurred in six patients, all unrelated to the study device. There were no reports of emergent surgery, significant bleeding or pseudoaneurysm.
Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the study device can be used for successful endovascular anastomosis of a vein to a graft for hemodialysis, with acceptable cumulative patency and safety profile at 6 months.
Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02532621.
Keywords: Endovascular procedures; arteriovenous anastomosis; graft survival; renal dialysis; vascular grafting.