Hemodialysis access care
If you’re living with kidney failure, you may have an arteriovenous (AV) graft or fistula for dialysis. This access point lets the blood-washing machine connect to your blood vessels. Over time, the graft or fistula can narrow or develop a blood clot. A Montage Health interventional radiologist will make the access point useful again with a procedure that’s less invasive than surgery.
Procedures we perform
Interventional radiologists are doctors who use imaging guidance to treat health issues. Your physician may recommend one of these dialysis access procedures at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
Hemodialysis catheter placement
An interventional radiologist places a thin tube called a tunneled venous catheter under the skin of your chest. Blood flows through the tube to and from the blood-filtering machine.
If you already have a hemodialysis catheter, but it’s not working, we’ll exchange it.
Imaging and treatment of a fistula or graft
Imaging technology helps us find the problem in a graft or fistula for kidney dialysis. If there’s a blood clot, we’ll remove or dissolve it. If we find a narrowed blood vessel, we may inflate a tiny balloon to widen it and place a stent (tube) to keep it open.
Preparing for your procedure
After our interventional radiology team receives your doctor’s referral, we’ll schedule a clinic visit. You’ll learn what to expect from treatment and get answers to your questions.
Don’t eat or drink the evening before your procedure.
Day of your procedure
After you come to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, you’ll:
- Change into a hospital gown
- Take lab tests
- Receive an intravenous (IV) line for fluids and medications
- Meet your doctor to discuss the procedure
- Go to the procedure suite, where we’ll attach sensors to monitor your vital signs and give you conscious sedation (medicine to relax you and prevent pain)
An interventional radiologist will then:
- Place a catheter at the dialysis access area
- Perform the procedure
- Remove the catheter from your body
We’ll monitor you as you recover from the sedation. You may go home the same day.
After the procedure
You may feel mild pain where the doctor inserted the catheter. With over-the-counter medicine, the pain should improve in a few days.
Follow-up care
Your dialysis team will monitor your access area to make sure it keeps working well. If you need to see us again, they’ll refer you to our interventional radiology clinic as soon as possible.
