Vascular Access is required for a dialysis machine to be plugged into your blood stream.

It is very important to get vascular access correct for you begin a program of dialysis.

There are three main types of vascular access:

Arteriovenous Fistuala

This is the type of access least likely to form clots or get infected, but requires planning long before the dialysis takes place.

A fistula is an opening between two parts of the body that are most often seperate. Therefore the surgeon joins a vein to an artery, which cause the vein to grow and strengthen allowing for more points of access for needles for blood dialysis.

AV Graft

This is where a surgeon puts a tube or graft into a vein for easier access to the blood stream. This type of Vascular Access is more likely to get infected than other, though does make for easier access.

Veneous Catheter

These types of Vascular Access is used when a more immediate dialysis is needed. It works by a catheter being inserted directly into a large vein and left so that blood dialysis can be performed more immediately.