Mitigation of the turbulence within an arteriovenous fistula with a stent implantation

The transitional flow which initiates within the junction (anastomosis) of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is known to be a contributing factor in the onset of vascular disease. A novel treatment method involving the implantation of a flexible stent across the anastomosis has enabled the retention of a large proportion of functioning AVFs, despite the propensity for stent malapposition to occur at the sharp inner curve of the anastomosis. Large eddy simulations of a single patient-specific AVF with and without the presence of a stent captured oscillatory flow behavior emanating from the interface of the two inlet flows in the stent-absent case, however, these oscillatory features were subdued in the stented case. The stent-absent case generally had higher turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the anastomosis which led to larger cycle-to-cycle variations in wall shear stress (WSS). The significantly lower TKE generated at the heel of the stented AVF was contained within the malapposed stent, thereby resulting in lower WSS fluctuations. However, a slight increase in turbulence downstream of the malapposed stent edge was noted. This detailed study reveals a significant decrease in turbulence within the AVF in the presence of the stent, thereby providing a level of understanding underpinning the success of the treatment strategy (in this patient case) from a fluid dynamic perspective.