Hemodialysis Using an Arteriovenous Fistula

IN 1960 chronic or maintenance hemodialysis became feasible with the first successful placement of an artificial external arteriovenous shunt. With that development the endeavor of chronic intermittent dialysis was undertaken as a highly experimental research program.1 Nearly seven years later the first 3 patients who started on this program in 1960 are still alive and essentially well.Since 1960 hundreds of patients have been restored to productive living by maintenance dialysis, and what once appeared a hazardous and speculative research objective has developed into a widely accepted method of treating irreversible renal failure. A great deal of progress has been . . .