Fistula removal/tie off

[LindaE]

My transplant will be 7 years old this July and my fistula is still pumping along like it did for dialysis. When I saw my transplant surgeon today for a checkup he told me the fistula needed to be removed/tied off, not sure which at this time because it is causing my heart to work harder due to the amount of blood it is pumping. My heart needs to beat faster to handle to overload thus stressing the heart unnecessarily. I'm pretty well versed in the ways of kidney dialysis and transplant but am absolutely ignorant of this. Any info from anyone????

[Marina]

My Neph sent me to see the vascular surgeon for a checkup on the fistula a few months ago. I was told that the fistula needs to be checked annually to avoid circulation probs.

The vascular surgeon was happy to see my fistula was still "buzzing" along.
He also mentioned that one reason the fistulas are tied off are to avoid any more straining just like you mentioned. The heart does not need to work harder than it already does. It has new organs to supply blood to, it has to deal with the immuno suppressants and it's side effects, so any help the vascular can provide is well appreciate it by the heart

He asked me if I had had any rejection episodes (I'm only 18 months out right now).
I haven't luckily. He said my veins are pretty small so they don't pose a huge hazard to the heart. I will continue to visit him annually for a check up, if in the future he feels it needs to be tied off, then he will do just that.

The way they tie them off is by reversing the procedure...... connect the artery back to an artery and the vein part to a vein, causing as little scar tissue as possible so if another fistula is needed in the future they use the same vein an artery to connect it.

Take care!