AV fistula question

[monrein]

I'm going in Monday morning for a new access and the surgeon is putting it in my upper arm.  My old one (which is clotted part way up) is in the lower arm and worked beautifully for five years.  Anyone have an upper arm fistula with an old one below it??  I'm worried about bending of the arm.  Tell me your experiences.

[Rerun]

I had two in my lower left arm that never worked.  Then I had my transplant and didn't worry about it.  Then I had to go back on dialysis and they put one in my upper left arm (same arm for those in Idaho).  It works fine.  I have bad veins, so it is not perfect, but they used my same arm.  I like the upper arm better.  There is more meat.  It bothered me in my lower arm because they are bony.  I know!  You are after the blood, but I'm more comfortable with my upper arm. 

The surgeon made an incision from my arm pit to my elbow-pit (whatever they call it) and I thought I would never be able to straighten my arm out again.  But, I can.  I can reach for parking passes from the machine etc....  Bending it was no problem.  It was straightening it.

Good luck.  What happened to your lower fistula that you have to have a new one?

[willieandwinnie]

monrein, are you getting a fistula or a graft? They tried to do a fistula on Len and it didn't take so they put a new type of self-sealing graft in his upper arm. 6 years and still buzz's like new. He did have to have the upper part roto rooter so to speak a couple of times. Let us know how your doing. I'll be thinking about you. 

[monrein]

The first one just quit working on me about a year after my transplant and that was in 1985.  Rerun do you stick yourself?  I'm a little concerned about the meat because I worry I'll have to dig too deep but my vascular surgeon (who is also a transplant surgeon) said that although it is deeper than the lower arm he could feel it.  My guy is just going to cut across about two inches near the elbow pit (good name I think) and hook up the vein and artery.  Sure hope he knows what he's doing.  Ha I don't want to have to cut him.  Thanks for your response.
Gail

[monrein]

I'm getting a fistula.  Apparently we do more of those than grafts in Canada and my first one was great even though my veins are small and they initially thought they'd have to take a piece of vein from my leg.  They changed their minds at the last minute so my leg was spared at that time.  Thanks for the good vibes,