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Patients with chronic renal failure need a new permanent vascular access for a number of reasons: they may have been diagnosed with renal failure and will need to start hemodialysis in the near future; they have failed on peritoneal dialysis and need to change to hemodialysis; they have had a kidney transplant which is now failing and need to return to hemodialysis; they have had a temporary central line for hemodialysis and now require a more permanent vascular access; or they may have developed complications with their current vascular access and they need a new one. Indeed, problems related to vascular access are the main reasons for admission to hospital for hemodialysis patients (Feldman et al., 1993).

Some vascular accesses become thrombosed or infected before they can even be used for hemodialysis, which means repeated surgery. However, a well-developed native arteriovenous (AV) fistula …