Additional Resources
In addition to the free Life Options materials you can find at www.lifeoptions.org, the resources below may help you learn more about the topics in this module of Kidney School.
Life at Home Articles
- Hemodialysis Access: Fistula First
- Dialysis Needle Fear - Easing the Sting
- Dialysis Needles, Self-Cannulation and the Buttonhole Technique
- The Art Of Making Your Fistula Or Graft Last
- Blood Pump Speed and Your Dialysis Fistula
Booklets
These 8-page booklets use simple text and pictures. There are step-by-step explanations of how to use a fistula, graft, or catheter for dialysis, as well as descriptions of common problems and what patients can do to keep their access healthy.
Available in multiple languages.
- What You Need to Know to Keep Your Fistula Healthy
- What You Need to Know to Keep Your Graft Healthy
- What You Need to Know to Keep Your Catheter Healthy
Websites
- www.fistulafirst.org – Fistula First
An effort by Medicare, the ESRD Networks, doctors, nurses, social workers, surgeons, patients, and others to ensure that fistulas are the first choice for all patients who can have one. Provides helpful resources to learn more about fistulas and how to care for them.
Audiovisuals
- Buttonhole Method of Needle Insertion Into A/V Fistulas (video), by George Harper
If you would like more information, write to Dialysis Clinics, Inc., Attn: Julie Helgerson, 3300 LeMone Industrial Blvd, Columbia, MO 65202. - Which way should needles go in an AV fistula? A thirteen minute webinare presented by John Agar, MD
Please note: Life Options does not endorse these materials. Rather, we believe you are the best person to choose what will meet your needs from these or other resources you find. Please check with your local library, bookstore, or the internet to find these items.