theoretically feasible is not always practical or affordable. The first book on intestinal fistulae was written by Thomas Pridgin Teale of Leeds in 1841. In his day most fistulae were the result of the natural progression of advanced disease. In the 1980s 70% of fistulae follow surgery and 20% are due to inflammatory bowel disease. The remaining 10% are the result of a variety of causes such as...

BACKGROUND Despite an increased propensity to primary failure in forearm arteriovenous fistulae compared with upper arm fistulae, forearm fistulae remain the preferred primary access type for chronic hemodialysis patients. In a high risk patient population with multiple medical comorbidities associated with requirement for intravenous access we compared the rates of access failure in forearm an...

A colovesical fistula (CVF) represents an abnormal communication between the colon and the bladder. Although CVFs are uncommon, they cause significant morbidity and may markedly affect the patient’s quality of life. Colovesical fistulae most frequently are the consequence of advanced-stage malignant disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and traumatic or iatrogenic injuries. The diagnosis of a CV...

Summary Background Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory, penetrating intestinal associated with fistula formation. Fistulae in can be classified into external and internal fistulae. Internal fistulae form between the gastrointestinal tract another organ include enteroenteric, enterocolic, enterovesical rectovaginal They are significant morbidity a decreased quality of life. Aim To review classifi...

BACKGROUND 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 p...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the clinical context and effectiveness of arterial percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of arterio-venous fistulae in chronic haemodialysis patients. METHODS Between May 1992 and June 1997, arterial PTA was performed in 33 patients with a total of 35 angioaccess devices of the upper limbs (18 arterio-venous fistulae a...

AIMS A variety of acute and chronic orbitopathies may be distinguished by standardised echography. Venous stasis orbitopathy (VSO) often presents with orbital signs when secondary to cavernous sinus and middle cranial fossa disorders. In this study, the aim was to assess whether differentiation between vascular and nonvascular causes of VSO could be made on the basis of clinical and echographic...

BACKGROUND The pathogenesis of fistulae in Crohn's disease (CD) patients is barely understood. We recently showed that more than two-thirds of CD fistulae are covered with flat, mesenchymal-like cells (transitional cells [TC]) forming a patchy basement membrane. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process of reprogramming epithelial cells, allowing them to migrate more effectively a...

PURPOSE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) creation with a thermal resistance anastomosis device (TRAD). MATERIALS AND METHODS From January 2014 to March 2015, 26 patients underwent ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous creation of proximal radial artery-to-perforating vein AVFs with a TRAD that uses heat and pressure to create a fused anastomosis. Primary endpoi...

INTRODUCTION Non-maturation and post-maturation venous stenosis are the primary causes of failure within arteriovenous fistulae (AVFs). Although the exact mechanisms triggering failure remain unclear, abnormal hemodynamic profiles are thought to mediate vascular remodelling and can adversely impact on fistula patency. AIM The review aims to clarify the role of shear stress on outward remodell...