Outcomes 2016 - Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital FY 2016 | Page 55

Complex Dialysis Access: Experience with Complex Bypasses and Fistulas for Complex Hemodialysis Access Clinical studies and continued research in the area of complex dialysis access is a mainstay for the vascular surgery division. In fiscal year 2016, vascular surgeons on the medical staff realized increasing volumes in referrals from throughout Texas for complex dialysis access procedures. The ability to handle the complexity of the patients needing these procedures and the experience of the vascular surgeons on the medical staff are known nationwide to training surgeons interested in completing a vascular surgery fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital. With the support of an experienced and certified ultrasonography team for diagnostic support, vascular surgeons provide a wide array of surgical interventions. In fiscal year 2016, the team worked with the National Kidney Foundation for the “Fistula First” initiative. The vascular surgeons are proud to be a part of the national goal of providing fistulas for our End-Stage Renal Disease population and in line with the goals of the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF NDOQI)™. HUMAN ACELLULAR VESSEL PHASE III CLINICAL STUDY Working closely with Humacyte, a biotechnology and regenerative medicine company, vascular surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital are involved in an investigational human acellular vessel (HAV) Phase III clinical study as a conduit for hemodialysis in patients with End-Stage Renal Disease and not candidates for a fistula. Baylor Dallas is part of the largest studies of any bioengineered vascular tissues to date. According to study information, HUMACYL may offer a potential safe and effective alternative for vascular access in hemodialysis treatment. The Baylor Dallas site Primary Investigator is Stephen Hohmann, MD, FACS. ENDOVASCULAR TREATMENT: MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY Also, during the past year, vascular surgeons remained on the forefront of the Super HeRO and HeRO related dialysis access devices via Merit Medical Systems. Super HeRO was scheduled for late 2016 release in the United States. Research associated with the devices occurred within Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital operating suites. The importance of this for the future of vascular surgery is evident to Stephen Hohmann, MD, director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship program. “It provides an option for patients who have been told that there is no other option,” says Dr. Hohmann. “Our involvement in leading edge techniques and devices propels our program into nation-wide exposure especially for our vascular surgery fellowship program.” Hung Chu, MD, a vascular surgeon on the medical staff and study investigator involved in HeRO, says, “HeRO is indicating that there is a decreased risk as it avoids high-risk dialysis access catheters. HeRO offers an option for continued dialysis access for end-stage renal disease.” Throughout fiscal year 2016, vascular surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor Dallas worked closely with a multidisciplinary team on this evolving procedure. Patient outcomes are monitored closely and the study oversight continues. We are a part of an exciting new technology in the way vascular procedures may be performed in the future. Once again, the vascular surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center are on the leading edge of vascular surgery, and we look forward to bringing this to our vascular surgery fellows. Stephen Hohmann, MD, FACS Program Director, Vascular Surgery Fellowship program *Image courtesy of Merit Medical OUTCOMES 2016 53