What type of needle for AV Graft in forarm?

[komomai]

Will be starting training on my new AV Graft in center, to do self cannulation at home. I've been asked by my dialysis nurse what kind of needles would I want to use. As I'm doing this in a Japanese hospital in Okinawa, there is sometimes communications problems or something gets lost in translation. I would like to use the buttonhole method, but will this work with a graft? I've tried to stay away from the needles, but after over 2 years my tunnel catheter has begun to fail, so I had to go into the hospital, and they ran one needle from the AV graft arterial and the other one to venous tunnel catheter. As I just had the AV graft worked on a few days ago, my surgeon didn't want me to start using it yet. Fortunately it worked. Any help with types of needles would really be a big help. 

[Simon Dog]

I don't think you can use buttoholes with a graft - it will probably be conventional sharps.

I do know that the needle angle is 45%, as I remember that as the one question I guessed on in my home hemo final written exam (it was not covered, since I use a conventional fistula).   Grafts are a fixed diameter, so I don't think you will use a tourniquet.

[cbatsea]

No, you can't buttonhole a graft....only a fistula.