Arteriovenous Fistula Histology, Hemodynamics, and Wall Mechanics: A Case Report of Successful and Failed Access in a Single Patient

The low 1-year patency rate of mature arteriovenous fi stulas (AVFs) remains a signi fi cant clinical problem. Although vessel properties and biomechanics have been suggested to affect AVF function, understanding their roles in AVF patency failure is challenging owing to the heterogeneity within the patient population, including demographics and comorbid conditions. In this study, we present a case of a patient with 2 upper-arm AVFs with different 1-year patency outcomes and investigate whether they had different histologic features before the AVF creation surgery and biomechanics at 1 day and 6 weeks after the AVF creation surgery using magnetic resonance imaging-based fl uid structure interaction simulations. Despite both AVFs being in the upper arm, created < 1 year apart by the same surgeon, and having similar preoperative vessel diameters, the 1-year patent AVF had less preoperative intimal collagen and higher wall shear stress 1 day after AVF creation, when compared with the AVF that failed by 1 year. Thus, a low intimal collagen content before the AVF surgery and higher wall shear stress immediately after the AVF creation surgery may be important for long-term AVF patency and should be investigated with larger cohorts. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).