Fistula Placement

[jbrock]

One of my questions is: (actually a few)
How many have had a successful upper arm fistula and was it in the "inside of the upper arm"? Do they really cut you from elbow to armpit?.......YIKES!!!!
The surgeon that will be doing my fistula said that my veins in my lower left arm (I'm right handed) were small so he was wanting to put in my upper left arm. I don't care about the scar. I have a beautiful scar from my liver transplant. 

I worry more about the pain after the surgery and the day after. He told me I shouldn't have any problems with my hand or fingers going numb and if I did to let them know, that they have medication for that.....that scared me too!...Numbness?  Yikes!!

Any input would be much appreciated!!
Joy



TOPIC MOVED to appropriate section - Bajanne, Moderator

[jbrock]

  See....I will try to make sure I am under the "right" tab and then subject....

[jg]

Joy:

I had a fistula put in March so I could  do hemo.
It is in my upper left arm because like you my veins in the lower arm are too small.
I am looking at my arm now!      
The scar is about 1 inch below my elbow (inside of arm) and about 2 inches in width.
Compared to my other dialysis scars, it  is the smallest and least notable.

As for the numbness, it is one of the several POSSIBLE after surgery events.
I received a sheet of info  about possible events and how to
take care of the fistula.
Also very important to me, I saw a kidney access nurse the next day and then
once a week there after to check fistula and remove bandages.
I was very well taken care of here in Calgary, Canada.
Hopefully you will receive similar care.
For pain they have gave me Tylenol with codeine and I couldn't drive for 4 days.

     Jeff

 

[cookie2008]

I had fistulas placed in both arms, right arm from shoulder down to my elbow fistula does not work, in my left arm the scar is from my shoulder to my elbow and this fistula works. .

[MooseMom]

My fistula surgery was in March, and it sounds like my fistula is a lot like jg's.  I have not had to use it yet, so it is still maturing, but the access will be in my upper arm just above the bend in my elbow.  The actual scar is just below the crook of that elbow and is about 2 inches long.  I have never had numbness in my hand or fingers, but I did have some numbness in my lower arm about halfway up from my wrist.  That was the result of some nerve damage, and I was told that this numbness is normal and would disappear in about six months.  It disappeared sooner than that.

I didn't really have much pain from the wound itself after surgery, but as time went on, I would get these awful shooting lightning like pains down my lower arm.  Again, these pain were neurological in nature, and I don't think everyone gets them.  It freaked me out, though, so I went back to the surgeon for him to check the fistula, and he assured me it was "most excellent."

Hope this helps.

[RenalSurvivorDotCA]

Hi Joy. The scar all depends on the surgeon and his style. I have a scar on my left arm from armpit to elbow from my 1st fistula. My 2nd one (different surgeon)  on my right upper arm is a 2" one by the elbow and another 1" one about halfway to my armpit. The long one on my left arm you can even still see the staple holes...it looks like a flesh-colored zipper!

My veins were small and deep and the fistula didn't work, so they revised it once and then i went in again to get a graft put in. The graft is working well now.

[sullidog]

I have a graft. This makes my second one. I had a little numness in my forarm but my hands were fine. I was able to control my pain with tylenol.
Troy

[lola]

Otto's is in the upper inside and they DID NOT cut him elbow to arm pit, his Dr just made a few "nicks". He was back to work in 1 week and the pain was not to bad.

[Bajanne]

I have a graft.  After the first surgery, my hand was terribly numb, but no one did anything and it went away.  I have had quite a few graft surgeries (I had been getting aneurysms ) and after the last one earlier this year, my hand again was very numb.  But it went away.  I didn't even think about it until this thread and then I realized that I have been numbness-free for months!!

[jbrock]

Thanks so much for your input. Again..made my fears a bit less and I feel like I am more prepared going into the surgery. I will keep you posted as to how it goes.

I sure am glad I joined IHD!!   

[VictoriaG]

my husband's fistula is in the bend of his elbow. he had maybe a 2 inch incision. they wrapped it in bandages, and right after the surgery he ate. his was a bit sore. he propped his arm up on pillows when he slept. it made it feel alot better and kept me from bumping it. a few days after the surgery we changed the dressing and washed it. his pain was managable with tylenol.

the only thing that was lousy for him about the surgery was a week later we had 5 feet of snow in 3 days. the whole town was in a state of emergency and he couldn't even do anything to help us because his left arm was useless, he wasn't allowed to lift ANYTHING!

but his surgery was uneventful,his scarring is minimal (and now covered in little needle wounds anyways) and his recovery was only inconvenient, but not too unpleasant.

keep us posted! best wishes 

[JScott1753]

My surgeon told me in 2007 that he was planning to do the transposition surgery(where they move the vein from the bottom of the arm up to on top of the bicep--the operation with the big incision) on me, but due to low platelets, they just put my first catheter in. My second graft operation was very close to a transposition--graft connected to the artery by the elbow, and connected to the vein by my underarm, but only with short incisions.
The numbness is often called steal syndrome, since by disconnecting the vein and artery and attaching them to the graft, the hand can sometimes be numb since the redirection of the bloodflow can  "steal" some of the blood normally used by the hand. This can be irritating, even painful, but fortunately, at least for me, it doesn't occur very often. That is how they explained it to me.
Jon
P.S. Steal syndrome "can" happen, but not necessarily to everyone.

[jbrock]

I am so happy to report my surgery (Tues) for my fistula went perfectly!!    It is only a 2" incision running in the crease of my left arm. It was sore the first night but after that it hasn't hurt me at all. No pain meds needed!! The bruising is the worst of it all. That does not hurt either 
I kept it elevated after wards but I bruise really easy. Is this a kidney thing?.....lol

I started working with a stress ball that night and have felt for the "thrill" or "buzzing" and its just purring away

Thank you ALL who responded to ease my fears. You helped a lot. I so appreciate you all!!

Joy 

[Des]

I am glad that it went well.

Just keep on exercising it and don't pick up stuff that is too heavy, it can tear inside.