Effect of surgical banding of a high-flow fistula on access flow and cardiac output: intraoperative and long-term measurements.

Creation of either a natural arteriovenous graft or a fistula as a vascular access to support long-term hemodialysis can lead to "high-output" cardiac failure. The authors describe a patient who underwent surgical banding of an upper arm arteriovenous fistula. Access flow and cardiac output were measured not only pre- and postoperatively but also intraoperatively using a modified Swan Ganz catheter, originally developed to measure access flows during radiologic procedures. Banding resulted in a significant decrease in access flow and cardiac output, which was sustained for up to 1 year postoperatively.