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Introduction. The aim of this study was to report our preliminary results regarding the use of the repositionable self-expanding nitinol stent in a cohort of patients with femoro-popliteal artery occlusion/stenosis. Material and methods. The study groups consisted a total of 8 patients (10 extremities) between 47 and 70 years of age who presented with typical symptoms of intermittent claudication and/or critical limb ischaemia (Fontaine stage II–IV) and underwent primary elective superficial femoral artery percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and/or stenting using a Jaguar repositionable self-expanding nitinol stent in the dates of 2013–2015. Information for patency at 6th month after the stenting procedure was obtained. Results. The mean operation time was 38.56 ± 26.40 minutes. No patients had procedure-related stent fracture, distal thromboembolism, haematoma, femoral pseudoaneurysm or stent occlusion. At 6-month follow-up, at least one categorical improvement was observed in 7 patients (87.5% of intent-to-treat population). Conclusions. The Jaguar self-expanding nitinol stent has several technical advantages, and its use was associated with a low risk of complications. Further study is warranted to establish its superiority in providing good long-term patency.

Introduction. Risk of failure after surgical creation of the AVF was linked to the diameter and flow dynamics of the vessel that is to be quantified by preoperative ultrasound mapping. We aimed to report our results using a different technique consisting of Fogarty® catheter dilatation of the cephalic vein after completion of the anastomosis. Material and methods. A total of 23 patients, aged between 35 to 70 years, with a cephalic vein diameter of ≤ 2.5 mm received a dilatation technique for arteriovenous creation. Patients having reoperations, aneurysmatic or thrombosed veins and multiple risk factors were not considered eligible and access failure within 60 days was defined as early fistula failure. Results. Mean cephalic vein diameter was 2.03 ± 0.28 mm and mean radial artery diameter was 2.33 ± 0.16 mm. At 15th day visit, 21 of 23 patients (91.3%) had patent arteriovenous fistula. Mean time of follow-up was 7.2 ± 1.67 months and was complete in 20 of 21 patients with a patent fistula. Overall patency was 18/23 (78.2%) in patients with survived AVFs. Conclusion. Fogarty® catheter dilatation of the cephalic vein after completion of the anastomosis during arteriovenous fistula creation is effective and safe in patients with small calibrated veins.