• Rajesh Bhat, Kieran McBride, Sam Chakraverty, Raghunandan Vikram, and Alison Severn.
• Department of Clinical Radiology, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee DD19SY, UK. raj.bhat@nhs.net
• Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2007 Nov 1; 30 (6): 1166-70; discussion 1171-2.

AimTo evaluate the technical success and patency rates following primary cutting balloon angioplasty for venous stenoses in native dialysis fistulas.MethodsForty-one patients (26 men, 15 women; age range 26-82 years, average age 59 years) underwent 50 (repeat procedures in 9 patients) primary cutting balloon (PCB) angioplasty procedures in three institutions by three primary operators. The indication was primary stenosis in 21 patients, recurrent lesions in 15, and immature fistulas in 5. A PCB was used alone in 17 cases, but was followed by a larger standard balloon in 33 cases. Follow-up included ultrasound, flow analysis and urea reduction ratio, and ranged from 2 to 30 months (mean 14 months).ResultsThe technical success rate was 98%. All procedures were relatively painless. Two PCBs burst and 4 leaked, but without causing any morbidity. Nineteen fistulas were still working at last follow-up. Primary patency rates at 6, 12, and 24 months using Kaplan-Meier analysis were 88%, 73%, and 34%, respectively, and the primary assisted patencies were 90%, 75%, and 50%, respectively.ConclusionPCB angioplasty has high technical success and low complication rates. The long-term patency rates are favorable for PCB angioplasty and compare favorably with other series.

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