AV Shuntogram
A shuntogram is an image-guided procedure where contrast material (dye) is placed in the shunt reservoir/valve and the speed at which it moves is observed to determine if there is a shunt malfunction or blockage.
This procedure is used to look inside your dialysis access, whether it is a fistula or shunt. It is used to find imperfections or narrowing in the access or the blood vessels leaving the access.
Fistula Declotting
A dialysis fistulagram is a procedure performed when your dialysis graft or fistula is not working properly, usually due to a stenosis or narrowing in a blood vessel. Many patients will need this procedure 2 or 3 times in a year. If these problems are not treated early, the dialysis access can clot and a procedure is needed to remove the clot and fix the underlying problem, this is known as a declot.
Catheter Insertion
Central Venous Access Catheters (CVAC)
A CVAC is a tube that is inserted beneath your skin so there is a simple, pain-free way for doctors or nurses to draw your blood or give you medication or nutrients. When you have a CVAC, you are spared the irritation and discomfort of repeated needlesticks. More than 3.4 million CVACs are placed each year, and doctors increasingly recommend their use. There are several types of CVACs, including tunneled catheters (Hickman or Broviac), peripherally inserted central catheters (also called PICC lines or long lines), dialysis catheters, and implantable ports.
Catheter Clearance
Catheters are thin flexible tubes inserted into a body cavity, duct or vessel to allow drainage, provide nutrients and/or medication, enable dialysis, and obtain frequent blood samples. Catheters left inside the body, either temporarily or permanently, often require clearance procedures to unclog them. Strict protocols must be followed to help eliminate the risk of introducing microorganisms into the catheter lumen and hub, which can spread to the body and cause infection.
What is Dialysis?
Dialysis is the artificial process of eliminating waste (diffusion) and unwanted water (ultrafiltration) from the blood. Our kidneys do this naturally. Some people, however, may have failed or damaged kidneys which cannot carry out the function properly – they may need dialysis.
In other words, dialysis is the artificial replacement for lost kidney function (renal replacement therapy).
Dialysis may be used for patients who have become ill and have acute kidney failure (temporary loss of kidney function), or for fairly stable patients who have permanently lost kidney function (stage 5 chronic kidney disease).
When we are healthy our kidneys regulate our body levels of water and minerals, and remove waste. The kidneys also produce erythropoietin and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol) as part of the endocrine system. Dialysis does not correct the endocrine functions of failed kidneys – it only replaces some kidney functions, such as waste removal and fluid removal.
Helpful links the The National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation