Pre-operative exercise therapy to increase blood vessel diameter in patients undergoing radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula creation

Post-operative upper extremity exercise is recommended to patients with arteriovenous fistulas. It is postulated that increased blood flow to vessels improves maturation and patency rates. Recent studies favour pre-operative exercise therapy to improve the outcomes of arteriovenous fistula creation. To investigate if pre-operative exercise therapy increases vessel diameter and maturation in patients undergoing distal arteriovenous fistula creation. 34 patients planned for radiocephalic arteriovenous fistula creation were recruited at a tertiary university hospital Vascular Surgery Unit. Patients underwent a 6-week period of self-directed daily upper extremity exercises before surgery. Patients were reviewed up to 6 months post-surgery. The primary outcome investigated was change in venous and arterial diameters following exercise intervention. The secondary outcome investigated was the primary failure rate of the newly created arteriovenous fistulas. After exercise therapy, mean hand grip strength increased from 20.3 ± 6.62 kg to 21.9 ± 7.16 kg ( p=.01). There was a statistically significant increase in basilic vein diameter amongst those who demonstrated strict compliance to at least 42 days of pre-operative exercise therapy by 0.51 mm from 3.23 ± 1.09 mm to 3.74 ± 1.31 mm ( p=.03). Primary failure rate of newly created radiocephalic arteriovenous fistulas was 25% (7 of 28), comparable to our previous series of 436 distal arteriovenous fistulas created which had a failure rate of 26%. There was a trend of increase in vein diameters after pre-operative exercise therapy. Although not statistically significant, patients with successful arteriovenous fistula creation had longer mean completion of exercise days.