When hemodialysis is part of your treatment for end-stage kidney disease, you may need a dialysis catheter. At Vascular & Interventional Specialists, the experienced medical providers offer dialysis catheter placement procedures on an outpatient basis. The physicians also provide comprehensive dialysis access management services to help you care for your catheter. Call the Miami, Florida, office to schedule a dialysis catheter consultation or book an appointment online today.
A dialysis catheter is a soft, flexible tube that allows blood to flow outside of your body to a dialysis machine. A catheter gives easy access to your veins if you need hemodialysis as part of your treatment for end-stage kidney (renal) disease.
Vascular & Interventional Specialists offer dialysis catheter placement services for adults on an outpatient basis. The providers use minimally invasive techniques to create the catheter access point.
When you have advanced kidney disease, your kidneys can no longer remove excess fluids and toxins from your blood. Hemodialysis works like an artificial kidney and uses a machine that cleans the blood outside of your body.
A dialysis catheter allows blood to flow out of your body to the dialysis machine for cleaning. Then, the filtered blood returns to your body through the catheter tube.
Vascular & Interventional Specialists may recommend a dialysis catheter if you’re not a candidate for another type of dialysis access point, such as a fistula or graft. The team offers dialysis access management services to determine if a catheter is right for you and ensure your access point remains functional.
During your dialysis access placement procedure, the Vascular & Interventional Specialists physicians place an intravenous (IV) line into a vein in your arm to deliver sedatives into your bloodstream, so you can stay relaxed.
They also provide a local anesthetic to numb the area where they will insert the catheter. Your physician makes a small nick in your skin to insert the catheter. They rely on fluoroscopy (real-time X-ray technology) to guide the catheter into the proper position in your vein.
Dialysis access procedures typically take less than an hour. After a brief recovery period, you can expect to go home to rest. It’s common to have bruising or swelling at the insertion site.
The providers offer resources that help you care for your catheter. For instance, you should clean the catheter with a sterile solution to prevent blockages. Your physician also checks your catheter during follow-up visits to ensure it’s functional.
Call the Vascular & Interventional Specialists office to schedule a consultation for a dialysis catheter if you need hemodialysis, or book an appointment online today.