Dialysis Access Maintenance
If you’re receiving regular dialysis, the point of entry to your circulatory system may need periodic assessments, care, and maintenance. The interventional radiologists at Florida Endovascular and Interventional can help!
We offer numerous minimally invasive procedures for patients with kidney disease and other medical concerns. The vast majority of our services are provided without having to cut through healthy skin or other tissue. For you, this means no large incisions, no surgery, no hospitalization, and faster-than-usual recovery times.
Our Dialysis Access Services
Dialysis requires that you have an easy and reliable vascular access point, typically in the arm. There are several ways we can help with the placement, care, and maintenance of this dialysis access. At Florida Endovascular and Interventional, we offer outpatient dialysis access creation and maintenance services for dialysis patients, including:
An arteriovenous (AV) fistula is a method of widening and strengthening a vein to better accommodate the rapid blood flow of dialysis. Most patients who will undergo dialysis will require an AV fistula. During dialysis, two needles are inserted into the AV fistula – one to remove blood and send it the dialysis machine to be filtered, and another where the filtered blood is returned to the body.
Traditionally, an AV fistula was only possible with surgery. At Florida Endovascular and Interventional, however, we offer patients a nonsurgical, minimally invasive option – without the need for implants. Find out more about our AV fistula creation process – and how it could benefit you.
Although an AV fistula is the preferred means of vascular access for patients who are planning to undergo dialysis, sometimes a catheter is used instead, typically on a temporary basis. During dialysis, the equipment is connected to the portion of the catheter that remains outside your body.
When catheter placement is needed, our interventional radiologists can perform the procedure in the comfort and safety of our in-office, fully equipped surgery suite. We use minimally invasive methods – guided by real-time imaging – to insert the catheter (a tiny, flexible, hollow tube) through the skin and into the target vein.
Blood clots may develop within your vascular access point. This is true, whether you have an AV fistula, AV graft, or a catheter. To restore proper blood flow through the access point, the interventional radiologists at Florida Endovascular and Interventional can perform a declotting procedure here in our offices. This may be accomplished with angioplasty and stenting, or another method of breaking up or dissolving blood clots using a catheter threaded to the spot.
Using these methods to keep your AV fistula clear, for easy blood flow, is called dialysis access maintenance.
A fistulagram creates an image of blood flow at your AV fistula in order to identify possible blockages, such as the development of a blood clot or other narrowing (stenosis) of the passageway, which might hinder a dialysis treatment.
The X-ray imaging is done after injecting a contrast dye into the fistula so that blood flow in the area can be examined.
While rare, in some cases, the lower extremities (legs) may be used for vascular dialysis access – instead of the arms. At Florida Endovascular and Interventional, we can conduct the imaging tests necessary to determine whether a lower extremity access point is a viable option for a patient.
Vein or venous mapping uses noninvasive doppler ultrasound to create a map of the veins in a particular area of your body. This imaging procedure can identify:
- Size and depth of veins
- How well blood flows through the veins
Venous mapping is used to prior to the creation of an AV fistula, so that the most appropriate vein is used as a dialysis access point.
Nonsurgical Dialysis Access Care in South Florida
At Florida Endovascular and Interventional, we offer numerous services for kidney disease patients who will be or are undergoing dialysis treatments. We even offer transportation for patients who require the creation of an AV fistula or other type of dialysis access.
To find out more about our dialysis access care, call Florida Endovascular and Interventional at (786) 534-2555 or request an appointment now. We look forward to seeing you at one of our four convenient South Florida locations.
