Arterio-Venous Fistulas: How to look after them

Arterio-Venous Fistula (AVF) are created for patients with end-stage (stage 5) renal failure so their veins can be used for haemodialysis. A successful native AVF can be used within 6-8 weeks when it is called a mature fistula. If the fistula does not mature after 2 months (called poor fistula maturation) and it can be matured via Balloon Assisted Maturation or open AVF repair procedure. Prosthetic graft fistulas take 2-3 weeks to mature