WavelinQ EndoAVF Long Term Patency-A Follow-Up from a Prospective Stud.

BACKGROUND

The WavelinQ EndoAVF system has been used in the United States since 2018 to create minimally invasive arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) in the upper extremity. Our group previously published promising early short-term results of initial patients using this system, with a patency of 88% at 2 months. With several years of follow-up, we sought to examine the long-term success of WavelinQ.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort study conducted at a single tertiary center followed 32 patients who underwent WavelinQ creation from October 2018 to July 2019. Kaplan-Meier univariate analysis was used to compare primary and secondary patency at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. Secondary outcomes of flow volume, surgical site infection, steal syndrome, and intraoperative complications were tracked and compared using χ2 analysis.

RESULTS

Thirty-two patients were followed out to an average of 960.8 days following WavelinQ placement. Sixty-five point six percent of patients required interventions before successful cannulation. Primary patency at 6 months was 53.3%, 30.0% at 1 year, and 7.6% at 3 years. Secondary patency at 6 months was 83.3%, 73.3% at 1 year, and 46.5% at 3 years. There was only one surgical site infection and no instances of steal syndrome.

CONCLUSION

WavelinQ EndoAVF access has inferior patency compared to surgical fistulas. Despite lower rates of steal syndrome and infection compared to surgical fistulas, the high reintervention rates and poor long-term patency suggest that traditional surgical fistula creation may still be the preferred approach.