Regional anesthesia: preferred technique for venodilatation in the creation of upper extremity arteriovenous fistulae.

Owing to the overall poor medical health of patients with end-stage renal disease, we have sought alternatives to the use of general anesthesia for access procedures. Furthermore, since local anesthesia (1) does not offer the motor block that is sometimes desired and (2) can be difficult to maintain when a large amount of vein needs to be transposed, we examined whether regional blocks can be useful for the creation of new arteriovenous fistulae (AVF). From August 2002 to January 2005, 41 patients scheduled for AVF placement underwent a regional block with the use of a lidocaine and ropivacaine mixture using a nerve stimulator.