fistula

[BRANDY]

What is involved in a fistula being put in? Do you get mapped and fistula in surgery . Or are they done  seperately , diffrent days . How long does it take .?







TOPIC MOVED to appropriate section - Bajanne, Moderator

[monrein]

Mapping is done in advance of surgery and is not painful at all.  Fistula surgery is scheduled based on the results of the mapping and is an out patient procedure done under local anesthetic and mild sedation. 

[thegrammalady]

mapping is done by untrasound

[Pam]

My fistula is now about 6 wks old. I had to be at the hospital at 6am and ws home by 2pm. I do have to have another surgery because the veins is too deep. My vein mapping was done at the hospital and took about 45min. The Dr will do another sonogram in his office on the 11th.  I did not have to take any pain pills. The only thing I complained about was that since the fistulas was placed rigth at my elbow the bandage rubbed every time I bent my arm. That drove me crazy. Right now the place of surgery is just a very faint scratch. Good luck with having yours placd.   

[MandaMe1986]

They told my father that he was going to need to stay in the hospital for 2 days after they put it in.

[monrein]

They told my father that he was going to need to stay in the hospital for 2 days after they put it in.

Sounds like someone is looking to make money, unless your Dad has tons of medical issues that put him at very high risk of clotting or something.

[BRANDY]

OK my mapping is done. Tomorrow is the day I meet with surgeon. Thanks for your replys.

[paddbear0000]

Good luck with the surgeon tomorrow. There is nothing to worry about. I met with mine last week. All he did was go over my options as to where he could put the fistula based on the vein mapping. The surgeon will let you know if your veins are too small for a fistula in your arms, whether you'll have to get it in the leg (rare), if you'll need a graft or a catheter instead. I was told my veins are very small, but he would give it a try anyway. He let me decide where I would like it to be, then described what he would do. Basically, all they will do for the surgery is take a tiny 2-3mm slice of the vein and artery walls off, then attach the two at the new openings, stitch it up, and close up the incision in your arm. Some people need to have a second surgery to bring the fistula closer to the surface, some don't and some will have it done at the same time as the fistula creation. My first fistula surgery is this Friday, so we're pretty much on the same path.

[okarol]

Jenna's first fistula didn't work (upper arm.) The surgeon wanted to switch and try the other arm, but luckily we found another vascular surgeon who reworked the first one. I mention this only because it does occasionally happen. The 2nd fistula worked great for 3 years, it quit on the day of her transplant.

[MandaMe1986]

They told my father that he was going to need to stay in the hospital for 2 days after they put it in.

I am not to sure what the reason is. I need to make sure I check into i t.