End Stage Renal Disease (Dialysis)

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RENAL FAILURE AND DIALYSIS

Dialysis is a process used to treat patients whose kidneys are no longer working properly. It involves a special machine and tubing that removes blood from the body, cleanses it of waste and extra fluid and then returns it back to the body.

To undergo dialysis, a physician first creates access to a patient’s blood vessel using one of three methods:

• a fistula, which is made by joining together an artery and vein to make a bigger high-flow blood vessel.
• a graft, in which a soft plastic tube is placed between an artery and a vein, creating an artificial high-flow blood vessel.
• Catheter access, in which a narrow plastic tube is inserted into a large vein in the neck or groin.

When fistulas and grafts become clogged or narrowed, which can prevent a patient from undergoing successful dialysis, interventional radiologists use image-guided interventions to solve the problem:

• Catheter-directed thrombolysis, which dissolves blood clots that build up in fistulas and grafts by injecting a medicine.
• Angioplasty and stenting, which uses mechanical devices, such as a balloon, to open fistulas and grafts and helps them remain open with a small implantable wire mesh tube called a stent.

• Confusion
• Lethargy
• Shortness of breath
• Blood in the urine

• Anemia
• Insomnia
• Fatigue
• Edema of the arms (swelling)

• Prolonged Bleeding
• Increase Pressures at Dialysis
• Acute or Chronic Thrombosis
• Reduced Quality of Dialysis