Importance of the creation of a short musculofascial tunnel in peritoneal dialysis catheter placement

BACKGROUND: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter migration impedes the efficacy of dialysis. Therefore, several techniques involving additional sutures or incisions have been proposed to maintain catheter position in the pelvis. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of creating a short musculofascial tunnel beneath the anterior sheath of the rectus abdominis during PD catheter implantation. METHODS: Patients who underwent PD catheter implantation between 2015 and 2019 were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups based on the procedure performed: Patients who underwent catheter implantation without a musculofascial tunnel before 2017 and those who underwent the procedure with a tunnel after 2017. We recorded patient characteristics and catheter complications over a two-year follow-up period. In addition, postoperative plain abdominal radiographs were reviewed to determine the catheter angle in the event of migration. RESULTS: The no-tunnel and tunnel groups included 115 and 107 patients, respectively. Compared to the no-tunnel group, the tunnel group showed lesser catheter angle deviation toward the pelvis (15.51 ± 11.30 vs 25.00 ± 23.08, P = 0.0002) immediately after the operation, and a smaller range of migration within 2 years postoperatively (13.48 ± 10.71 vs 44.34 ± 41.29, P < 0.0001). Four events of catheter dysfunction due to migration were observed in the no-tunnel group, and none occurred in the tunnel group. There was no difference in the two-year catheter function survival rate between the two groups (88.90% vs 84.79%, P = 0.3799). CONCLUSION: The musculofascial tunnel helps maintain catheter position in the pelvis and reduces migration, thus preventing catheter dysfunction.