Welcome Gail, I know you and I have chatted... I will add here what I have so others can see. I had 2 bard perm caths put in about 2 months ago. They are completely under the skin, so far so good when I get PLEX. I know they also use vortex.
good luck,
Annette

bumping this up... help Gail if you know any additional information..
thanks,
Annette

Gail, I'm glad to know it's you who has the AV fistula. I remembered someone did. My neuro pretty much tells me the only way he would consider plex for long term treatment is if I agreed to an AV fistula. Do I understand you to be saying that yours is not visible? I have never seen a fistula (in dialysis patients) that was not a large obvious area on their arm. I don't have any suggestions for you. I hope you find an answer that works for you without too much trouble. I'll be watching to see what the outcome is.
Cathi

I ran your story by me apheresis nurse. He said raising your vein would be a good thing. For some reason, the docs at UTSW don't use the fistulas but across Dallas at Baylor (where Cathi is treated), they do.

Good luck on your surgery, whatever you and your docs go with. Keep us posted as this pertains to many of us.

Hugs,
Sherry

Sherry, you reminded me of the conversation I had with one of the apheresis nurses after my neuro discussed the AV fistula with me. She said they do not like them and do not like to use them. I had called to ask what kind of venous access system they prefer for plex. They like the tunneled catheters. My neuro doesn't. Rock and a hard place.

Hey guys,
Thanks for your input. I'll post more tomorrow after I talk to the surgeon.

Cathi, the fistula itself is very visable. It's the super vein that's grafted to the artery that is hard to find. The nurse says it's like going through cowhide to get to the vein. What has happened is I've gotten so much scar tissue built up from all the needle pokes over the years. Sorry, I did'nt make myself very clear on that. Like you're neuro, mine also agrees that an AV fistula is best for long term Plex. As you said between a rock and a hard place!!!

Thanks again, Annette, Cathi, and Sherry,
Gail

Gail, will they remove the current fistula if they create another graft or place ports? I hate the thought of having the fistula forever but if it's the best way to go and that's what I need then I have to get over that.

After talking to the vascular surgeon, I am going to have the revision surgery done. He said as long as I already have a fistula he would like to keep that working. My aphersis nurse also called University Wisconsin, Madison and talked to other nurses there about fistulas vs. caths. They had pros and cons for each but mostly favored fistulas. One of the big issues was that caths have a greater risk for infections.

I'm glad I researched this and I thank you for your help.

Strength and love,
Gail

Glad the decision has been made and sounds like the right one and it makes sense
Thanks so much for all the research and letting us know. (I know my veins won't hold up forever)
Good luck on the 20th and keep us posted

Big hugs,
Sherry

Gail,
thanks for letting us know what the decision is and based on what you have told us, it does seem to be the right one.. prayer for you and the impending surgery.
Annette