Simple Venipuncture for Hemodialysis

Abstract

REPEATED hemodialyses have made possible the prevention of the uremic syndrome in both acute and chronic renal failure.^{1 , 2} One of the major obstacles has been the limited accessibility and durability of blood vessels.The usual procedure for a single dialysis calls for either an indwelling arterial cannula or vena-cava catheterization involving surgical cutdowns.³ This is not a practical approach for multiple dialyses because of the rapid depletion of blood vessels.Methods currently employed to facilitate repeated dialyses include a double-lumen vena-cava catheter in which delivery and return of blood is accomplished by a single femoral-vein cutdown,⁴ percutaneous femoral arterial and . . .