Your Sinai provider gives you instructions before the day of your procedure. You shouldn’t eat or drink anything for 8 hours prior to your surgery as you receive a sedative to keep you comfortable.

You spend time in recovery following your procedure to allow the sedation to wear off and must have a ride home.

To find out more about available dialysis access management services, call Sinai or request an appointment online now.

If your graft or fistula is lacking good blood flow, the Sinai medical team can diagnose the issue through a fistulogram test and perform a minimally invasive balloon angioplasty. This procedure involves the placement of a tiny balloon into the narrow vein, which your doctor gently inflates to widen the blood vessel and improve blood circulation.

Sinai, also offers minimally invasive de-clotting procedures if blood clots obstruct the vein.

An AV fistula involves the removal of a portion of a vein in your arm or leg. Your doctor at Sinai, sews this vein to a nearby artery, causing the vein to enlarge and thicken. AV fistulas offer the lowest risk for infection and are a good option for many people.

An AV graft requires the placement of a special woven-plastic tube that connects the vein and artery. An AV graft is a good option for those with very small veins but does carry an increased risk for infections because of the prosthetic tube.

Dialysis is a medical treatment that helps filter waste from your blood when your kidneys aren’t functioning. The dialysis process involves circulating your blood through an external filtering machine, which removes waste and sends only clean blood back into your body.

In order to access your blood, you need to establish a port in your body. The Sinai medical team creates an access point using either an arteriovenous (AV) fistula or an AV graft.