My beautiful new 'baby' (fistula)

[jennyc]

Hi,

i'd like to introduce my new baby, So beautiful isn't it. It's been 5 weeks or so. Had a slight problem where the absorbable knot didn't absorb and pushed out the end near the thumb but the surgeon cut it out and it healed fine.

Anyone else got a new Pic to post of theirs?

[Maker]

Wow Jenny, looks great!  I see my surgeon for follow up tomorrow, and if he takes the stitches out I will post a picture of mine too.  Its definitely got a lot of healing to do before it looks like yours!

[galvo]

Looks good! Are you going to give 'baby' a name?

[Maker]

Jenny,

Maybe I already asked you this...how soon does your surgeon say you can try to use it?  My dialysis nurses told me 6 weeks, but at my follow up today with my surgeon he said he wouldn't even look at it till 2 months, but doubted it would be ready to try till 3 months!  That's too long.  Anyway, I'm squeezing the heck out of this little ball...hope it helps 

[Brianna!]

They had to wait 2-3 months to use mine, I forgot how long. But that was because I'm only 16, and it's different for kids. I wish my fistula scars looked like yours, Jenny! I have keloides in my body, or whatever, so my scars are all thick and stuff. I hope they use your fistula soon, and it goes well! If I can find that picture I posed of my fistula, i'll post it later.

[jennyc]

Thanks Brianna. They didn't use any external sutures on mine, just absorbable ones and steri strips. I had similar done after my tubes were tied and it works well for me, reduces scarring (have trouble with the knot both times but its easily taken care of)

Lori, the Dr said 2-3 months for me as well, he is going to try on the 11th December when i see him ( i see my surgeon on the 4th December so i'll have a good idea how it's going). I have a distinctive lump coming up off the side and above, i can feel the vein growing slowly so fingers crossed. I'd love to see a pic of a fistula, the one's i've seen are on men so i'm guessing they are different from womens cause their veins are larger (speaking generally).

Galvo: No, no name as yet any suggestions? 

I'm waiting for the numbess to go away, they said it could take upto 12 months. I have some sensation in my thumb now so that's a good sign but nothing around the actual scar, quite a wide circle. I'm actually getting a little excited about it now, i'm a little nervous about the sticking myself but i'm not scared of it anymore.

Just hoping it doens't go all big and twisted. I saw one the other day and the guy has problems with it cause it is too big and twists and turns around his arm but he doesn't have any lumps.

[Brianna!]

I had numbness in my first fistula that failed. But it went away fairly quick. It was on like half of my hand. See, the surgeons glued my incesion. I never heard of anyone else having theirs glued!

I attached pictures of my fistula, and scars. the pictures were taken like a month or two after they started to use the fistula. You can't really see it, because of the bandaids. But there's one little bump for the arterial and no bump for the veneous. And that's the scar, when they had to move the fistula up to the surface, because it was too deep. Now you see what I mean about the nasty scar. 

[jennyc]

Brianna, thankyou so much!!!! scars i can deal with my tummy looks like i had a date with freddy kruger  . Your fistula looks really good. Unfortunatly there aren't many good pic's of fistula's on the web they are all filled with aneurysms so don't look too good.

That is one big scar though. But if it keeps you alive it's worth it!!!

My son had the glue when he split his eyebrow open, they couldn't keep a 5 year old still long enough to stitch him so they glued it.

the first time they did my fistula it failed but they revised it within 24 hours and saved it (you can see a tiny y section at the top of the scar, that's where the two op's met), they move the connection a little bit futher up to where the vessel was a bit bigger and it's great now. growing slowly

[Brianna!]

You're welcome. As soon as I find my camera, I'll post a picture, without bandaids on it. LOL You see the bump on the second picture? It infiltrated, and the bump never went away. I can sometimes feel the thrill on the underside of my arm! it's really weird.

I feel so happy, that my fistula doesn't look like those pictures you see all the time of fistulas! I have small veins, so that might be why my fistula looks good? I don't know, though. I hope your fistula looks good, when they use it!

[tubes]

I had numbness in my first fistula that failed. But it went away fairly quick. It was on like half of my hand. See, the surgeons glued my incesion. I never heard of anyone else having theirs glued!

Brianna, the surgeons used glue on my current fistula. I had this one done in July of '05 and I didnt get to use it till January '06.

I had alot of trouble with this fistula same with the first 4, which never took. I was in the hospital for a month and a half. The first try, it kept clotting off and I had 3 declot surgeries. Then they tried a 2nd attempt in my upper right arm which finally took. By the time this fistula surgery happened I had been put on Lovenox. Then in September'06 I was back in the hospital for a revision. My fistula was too deep so it was brought closer to the surface. Then on Oct. 30, where the vein and artery are connected...the stitching came apart around 1am. Guess it was on Halloween then. I just about bled out in my bathroom while talking to the 911 operator. By some miracle my fistula was saved and I've been using it every since. It's a big fistula, it's right on the surface. If I get around to it, I'll post a pic or 2. My scar goes from  the bend in my elbow all the way into my armpit.

~Robert

p.s. I just call mine "trouble" 

[jennyc]

Tubes, trouble, i like that. Lucky they were able to save it!

[galvo]

Jennyc, I think "Fisty" would be the cutest of names.

[jennyc]

MMM.... my hubby and his best mate would have a field day with that one, their minds are pemanently in the gutter...

How about little miss bump

[Lillupie]

Hey anyone got any pics that i can use for my book??? I have one of my friend's permacath, and this one with me on the machine. My book is also going to be an educational resource for patients.

Lisa

[Brianna!]

Lisa, you can use my picture, that I posted. I'm going to PM you another better picture of my fistula, as soon, as I can get a camera to use, because I lost mine!