Venous stenosis in a pig arteriovenous fistula model--anatomy, mechanisms and cellular phenotypes

Haemodialysis vascular access dysfunction is currently a huge clinical problem. Although arteriovenous (AV) fistulae are the preferred mode of dialysis access, they have significant problems with both early (failure to mature) and late fistula failure. Both are characterized radiologically as a stenosis of the venous segment. Despite the magnitude of the clinical problem, the exact pathogenesis of AV fistula failure remains unclear. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a pig model of AV fistula stenosis and then use it to dissect out the mechanisms responsible for this lesion.