What is dialysis?
Your kidneys perform the crucial task of cleaning your blood, filtering through approximately 200 quarts each day. Out of these 200 quarts, they release about two quarts as waste and send the rest back into your system.
With advanced kidney failure, your kidneys no longer do their job correctly, so you need to rely on outside intervention to filter your blood, which is called dialysis.
There are two types of dialysis:
Hemodialysis
In this process, your blood is sent through an external artificial kidney, or hemodialyzer, which removes waste and fluid from your blood. Your doctor often accesses your blood through your arm or leg with minor surgery.
Depending on the condition of your blood vessels, your doctor may join an artery to one of your veins to create a fistula, use a plastic tube to connect your blood vessels, or outfit you with a catheter.
Peritoneal dialysis
With this technique, you filter your blood inside your body in your peritoneal cavity (abdomen). Using a catheter, you fill your abdomen with dialysate, which draws out waste and fluids, and then you drain the dialysate back out.
What is dialysis access maintenance?
The physicians at the University Vascular partner with you and your nephrology team to maintain your hemodialysis access, which is for maintenance work, and to keep you healthy. These are a few examples of the comprehensive services they provide:
Fistulagram
When you encounter problems with dialysis access, a fistulagram offers information that helps diagnose the problem.
Peripheral arterial angioplasty
When a vein or artery used for dialysis access becomes narrowed, a peripheral arterial angioplasty is done to widen the vessel and prevent blockage.
Thrombolysis or thrombectomy
Should your access vein or artery become blocked with a blood clot, thrombolysis breaks it down to restore functioning.
Why do I need vascular experts during dialysis?
With hemodialysis, problems can occur in your blood vessels that prevent the dialysis from working correctly, which is where University Vascular comes in.
The team of vascular experts works with your nephrologists to ensure your dialysis access needs are met through vigilant monitoring and intervention when necessary.
For dialysis to work well, your blood vessels need to be in good working order. Any access problem or blockage can disrupt the dialysis process, sending you back to square one.
At University Vascular, the team monitors and treats access problems to ensure your continued health.
To learn more about expert vascular access care during dialysis, call University Vascular or request an appointment using the online booking feature today.
