Endovascular vs Surgical Arteriovenous Fistula Outcomes

"Surgical fistula creation is standard surgical procedures, where a small cut through the skin is made to create a channel directly between a vein and artery .~The study procedures are standard clinical practice, and not considered an experimental procedure."

Endovascular fistula creation is a minimally invasive procedure used to create a canal between close artery and vein at the forearm. A magnet attached to a catheter is passed over a guidewire into the artery while another magnet passed over the guidewire into the vein. The two magnets are aligned close to each other, then the radiofrequency electrode is released from the venous catheter and energized for 2 seconds, creating a channel between the vein and the artery.