Interventional Nephrology
Interventional nephrology is all about helping people whose kidneys aren’t working well enough. When someone needs dialysis because their kidneys can’t do the job anymore and they can’t get a kidney transplant, interventional nephrology steps in. It focuses on making sure the access points for dialysis are working properly and fixing any problems that might come up during the process.
An interventional nephrologist is a doctor who’s really good at using gentle methods to deal with kidney issues. Instead of big surgeries, they use small cuts or pokes to reach the kidneys and urinary tract. They team up with other kidney specialists to give patients the best care possible.
Interventional oncologists deal with all sorts of kidney problems, especially when it comes to dialysis and kidney access issues.
Interventional nephrologists do special procedures to help with kidney problems, like:
- Fistulagram/grftogram: Using contrast material or carbon dioxide to look inside dialysis access points and check for any problems.
- De-clotting: Clearing blood clots from access points to improve blood flow for dialysis.
- Dialysis catheter placement: Putting a tube into a big vein to start dialysis when other options aren’t available yet.
