Vascular Access Program (Interventional Nephrology)

Our Services

The Vascular Access Program (Interventional Nephrology Clinic) offers consultation for patients with renal artery stenosis, as well as peripheral artery diseases related to hemodialysis vascular access (fistulas or grafts). The pre-hemodialysis or hemodialysis patients with problematic hemodialysis fistulas or grafts are also evaluated before further surgical and endovascular interventions.

The program provides diagnostic venography for pre-surgical planning of fistula or graft creation as well as a full range of endovascular interventions for problematic fistulas or grafts: angioplasty, stent placement, collateral vein coiling, and thrombectomy as required for the maintenance of adequate dialysis fistula or grafts. The interventional nephrology service also places temporary and semi-permanent tunneled dialysis access catheters and provides comprehensive management for complications of vascular access issues.

About This Program

In an effort to optimize the care of our nephrology patients, we developed an interventional nephrology program that effectively deals with vascular access-related procedures in a timely manner. This approach has minimized delays, decreased hospitalizations and the use of temporary catheters, and improved the medical care of our chronic dialysis patients.

The Vascular Access Program has expertise in many procedures, including:

• Angiography and angioplasty of AV fistulae/grafts
• Angiography and angioplasty of the central venous system
• Placement, maintenance, and removal of tunneled dialysis catheters
• Venography and/or sonographic venous mapping for pre-surgical planning
• Thrombectomy of AV fistulae/grafts
• Placement of intravascular stents
• Coiling of accessory veins in the management of poorly developing AV fistulae
• Placement of trans-lumbar dialysis catheters
• Trans-jugular renal biopsies