Apollo Speciality Hospitals OMR pioneers in Interventional Nephrology
Interventional nephrology emerges as a savior for dialysis fistula issues
Apollo Speciality Hospitals, OMR a part of Apollo Hospitals Group - Asia’s largest most trusted multi-specialty chain of hospitals are the pioneers in Interventional Nephrology to treat problems related to dialysis fistulae. Dr.Venkatesh Rajkumar, Interventional Nephrologist, Apollo Speciality Hospitals, OMR Tamilnadu’s first qualified Interventional Nephrologist along with his team specializes in treating problematic fistulas through various procedures like peripheral balloon angioplasties (much like the angioplasty done in the heart), drug releasing balloons, stenting, thrombectomies, coiling, glue injection etc. The team has managed over 130 problematic fistulas over the last 3 years using interventional Nephrology techniques.
Worldwide, diabetes and hypertension are the two most important causes for renal failure and the number of patients with advanced renal failure is on the rise. It is estimated that 200 to 230 per million population in India suffer from renal failure needing dialysis. Patients with advanced renal failure would need either kidney transplantation or long-term dialysis. Dialysis is the most frequently used method, as the availability of organs(kidneys) is very low. Dialysis is a treatment in which the patient’s blood is passed through a filter which removes excess water and unwanted toxins from the body and the purified blood is returned back to the body. To get the necessary blood flow for dialysis, an access is required. For long-term dialysis, the access is created with an arteriovenous (AV) fistula, which joins two blood vessels (an artery to a vein)under the skin to make a bigger blood vessel. Problems related to these AV fistula are very common and can compromise the functions of these fistula. Interventional Nephrology techniques come in handy in managing all such issues related to fistulas.
Speaking during the conference Dr.Venkatesh Rajkumar, Interventional Nephrologist, Apollo Speciality Hospitals, OMR said, “The quality of life and longevity of the patient is proportional to the quality of dialysis a patient gets. Dialysis needs blood to be drawn out from the patient’s body at the rate of 300ml per minute; a normal blood vessel cannot support such high blood
flow. We create a superior blood-carrying vessel called AV fistula by joining two blood vessels together making it bigger and thicker to support high blood flow. In a nutshell the quality of a dialysis is decided by the quality of that AVF and how well it supports the blood flow.”
“The chance of the fistula becoming mature to support dialysis is only around 50-60% even in the best of situations. In addition, as the dialysis needs to be done regularly (3/week) problems can happen in a fistula in the longer run. Creating a well-functioning fistula is a little difficult given the high prevalence of diabetes in Indian patients who have thin blood vessels. In patients with repeated fistula related issues special techniques like drug releasing balloons are used. Apollo Speciality Hospitals,OMR is the only centre in TamilNadu which perform these procedures in managing fistula related issues. By doing all these we try to make sure the fistula in a particular patients lasts long and it functions well and ultimately the quality of life of dialysis patients is good.” added Dr.Venkatesh Rajkumar. Apollo Speciality Hospitals, OMR.
The expert team also specializes in various related medical procedures like Doppler, Arteriography, Peripheral & Central Venography to make sure the fistula is highly functional.
