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Home > Archive > Kidney Failure > October 2006 > overgrown fistula
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| Charles Torrisi 2006-10-05, 8:32 am |
| My son was recently told at the center that his fistula was huge, (he
has an upper arm fistula and it is quite large which they were happy
with because they didn't have to guess where to stick him), and it might
have to be made smaller. Has anyone heard of this and how on earth can
they do something like this.
He went in to Boston to recheck something on his cardiogram, and they
lost the echogram that they did in the local area so he has to go in
again, this time into Boston again to take this test again. If anyone
is going through this, my suggestion is that you take every test needed
right there at the transplant center instead of in your home town.
Things seems to get lost very easily and have to be done again , not to
mention time off from work, double the insurance costs and the list goes
on. Anyway, good luck to all of you. Ange
Have a great day!!
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| Ange,
From time time to time, I have seem patients who have had extremely
large fistulas. The nurses love them, the doctors not so much. As you
said, the nurses like not having to search for the fistula, which is
only a problem with a few patients anyway, where the fistula is deep in
the tissue. The doctors are not the biggist fans of the overly large
fistula because of the potential strain it can put on the heart from the
increased blood flow. The surgery to reduce the fistula is relatively
simple and should have the desired effect.
You are right about the tests. They do seem to get lost much more often
than they used to. Just go into the office where you have the test done
and request a copy to take with you. They shouldn't give you any
problems with this.
Good Luck
Dave
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| daniel.granot@gmail.com 2006-10-06, 2:33 am |
|
I have had a slightly enlarged fistula for many years now because I am
very active and I lift weights.
What I have done is something generally not suggested and usually
discouraged.
I wear a compression garment over the area to restrict further growth.
Since I've worn the garment, the fistula has experienced minimal growth
if any.
My fistula is also on the upper arm area.
Charles Torrisi wrote:
> My son was recently told at the center that his fistula was huge, (he
> has an upper arm fistula and it is quite large which they were happy
> with because they didn't have to guess where to stick him), and it might
> have to be made smaller. Has anyone heard of this and how on earth can
> they do something like this.
>
> He went in to Boston to recheck something on his cardiogram, and they
> lost the echogram that they did in the local area so he has to go in
> again, this time into Boston again to take this test again. If anyone
> is going through this, my suggestion is that you take every test needed
> right there at the transplant center instead of in your home town.
> Things seems to get lost very easily and have to be done again , not to
> mention time off from work, double the insurance costs and the list goes
> on. Anyway, good luck to all of you. Ange
>
> Have a great day!!
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| Charles Torrisi 2006-10-06, 8:28 am |
| thank you Dave and Dan for your input on the enlarged fistula. What
kind of compress do you use, like an ace bandage or what. I printed out
these responses and will pass them on to my son. His fistula is on his
upper arm and it has become the size of a magic marking pen. Is that
too big or since I have never seen them, I guess I cannot compare and it
may be normal. I don't know. Ange
Have a great day!!
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| That sounds about how big it should be. I have only seen them alter a
fistula that has gotten to be about 1.5 inches across or high(that is
about 3.8 cm).
By compression, I hope you mean that you are just wearing something that
will not expand any further. Putting something that will actually
compress the fistula could lead to problems down the road. Also, be
careful with the lifting if your BP happens to be lower than usual.
Dave.
CTORRISI56@webtv.net (Charles Torrisi) wrote in news:5751-45264138-1178
@storefull-3311.bay.webtv.net:
> thank you Dave and Dan for your input on the enlarged fistula. What
> kind of compress do you use, like an ace bandage or what. I printed
out
> these responses and will pass them on to my son. His fistula is on
his
> upper arm and it has become the size of a magic marking pen. Is that
> too big or since I have never seen them, I guess I cannot compare and
it
> may be normal. I don't know. Ange
>
> Have a great day!!
>
>
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| Judanne 2006-10-12, 2:32 am |
| Compressing the fistula can cause it to collapse and a new one will need to
be made and in the meantime a permacath needs to be inserted high in the
chest wall to allow access - so be VERY careful about putting anything
compressive over it without permission from the renal physicians.
On the other hand, the surgery to remove or reduce fistulas is fairly
simple. I had a fistula removed from my wrist because it had become very
large, the skin over it very fine and I was terrified I would snag it on
something and bleed to death. I did wear a sweatband over it, but at that
time I'd had a transplant for a year and wasn't using it. I had it removed
2 years into the transplant.
I now have a fistula in my left arm that extends from my inner elbow to
midway up my arm. I will consider reduction surgery on it later as it is
still growing in the inner elbow and I had my second transplant over 1.5
years ago.
Judanne
"Charles Torrisi" <CTORRISI56@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:5751-45264138-1178@storefull-3311.bay.webtv.net...
> thank you Dave and Dan for your input on the enlarged fistula. What
> kind of compress do you use, like an ace bandage or what. I printed out
> these responses and will pass them on to my son. His fistula is on his
> upper arm and it has become the size of a magic marking pen. Is that
> too big or since I have never seen them, I guess I cannot compare and it
> may be normal. I don't know. Ange
>
> Have a great day!!
>
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| daniel.granot@gmail.com 2006-10-12, 8:31 am |
|
It's very important to understand that having something compress the
area where the fistula is when done improperly can be very dangerous.
When it is a torneque situation (as in where the compression occurs
over a very specific and narrow region, you can mess things up.
The compression I wear compresses over a distributed area around the
whole arm where I have the fistula. I have essentially used an old
stocking that is more often used for legs with varicose and spider
veins. I then cut off the end and tailored it more appropriately to the
size I required.
Again, it is important that you do not use compression in the same
fashion as a torneque (sp?) as this can be very dangerous for the
fistula.
It also seems to me that the fistula is of normal size so perhaps leave
it alone...
Charles Torrisi wrote:
> thank you Dave and Dan for your input on the enlarged fistula. What
> kind of compress do you use, like an ace bandage or what. I printed out
> these responses and will pass them on to my son. His fistula is on his
> upper arm and it has become the size of a magic marking pen. Is that
> too big or since I have never seen them, I guess I cannot compare and it
> may be normal. I don't know. Ange
>
> Have a great day!!
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