Dialysis
What is Kidney dialysis?
When a person has kidney failure, their kidneys are not able to cleanse their blood of wastes.
When the kidneys fail, dialysis is used to clean the bloodstream. Interventional Radiologists are experts in the creation and treatment of dialysis access such as catheters, fistulas, and grafts.
Our team of Interventional radiologists assists dialysis patients through procedures such as catheter placements and the assessment of hemodialysis access points.
Placement of Dialysis Access Catheters and Devices
During this procedure, a thin plastic catheter is inserted into the patient's blood vessel to act as a pain-free entry point for drawing blood and delivering nutrients and drug treatments. This access point remains in place for the duration of the patient's dialysis treatments.
Assessment of Fistulas and Grafts
Patients receiving dialysis must first have an access point created in their blood vessels. These access points can be created via a fistula, which joins an artery and a vein to create a larger, high-flow blood vessel or a graft, which is a soft, plastic tube inserted between an artery and blood vessel to create an artificial high-flow blood vessel.
Dialysis can be prevented or halted when a fistula or a graft become clogged or narrowed. To fix the problem, interventional radiologists use image-guided procedures like thrombolysis, which dissolves any clots that form in the fistula or graft, or angioplasty, which uses a balloon-tipped catheter to insert and inflate a balloon in the fistula or graft to create a free-flow opening.
