Vnitr Lek 2025, 71(7):E7-E12 | DOI: 10.36290/vnl.2025.085

Endovascular method of arteriovenous fistula creation

Katarína Tokarčíková¹, Ján Tokarčík¹, Tibor Varga ml.², Ondrej Zahornacký³

¹ IV. interná klinika UPJŠ LF a UNLP, Košice, Slovenská republika

² Bethesda Medical Pro, s. r. o. - Súkromná interná ambulancia, Kráľovský Chlmec

³ Klinika infektológie a cestovnej medicíny UPJŠ LF a UNLP, Košice

Arteriovenous fistulas are considered the preferred vascular access for patients requiring long-term hemodialysis. Their excellent patency, combined with low rates of infection and reintervention compared to central venous catheters and arteriovenous grafts, makes them the ideal access option for many patients with end-stage renal failure. The traditional method of creating arteriovenous fistulas is surgical. The development of two systems - WavelinQ™ (Becton, Dickinson and Company; Franklin Lakes, NJ) and Ellipsys® (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) - has led to a minimally invasive endovascular method of creating arteriovenous fistulas. Given the fact that this is a method with which there is not much experience compared to the surgical method, and also considering its financial demands, it is not a first-choice method, but a secondary option. Experience to date shows that endovascularly created arteriovenous fistulas are associated with a good maturation rate, low reintervention rate, high primary and secondary patency rates, and low primary failure rate. Their advantages include ease of use, the possibility of creation without the need of total anesthesia, and the absence of scars after the procedure.

Keywords: arteriovenous fistula, Ellipsys®, endovascularly created arteriovenous fistula, surgically created arteriovenous fistula, WavelinQ™.

Accepted: October 16, 2025; Published: October 31, 2025  Show citation