Most access failures come from a small number of avoidable causes: infection, repeated trauma to one site, and unrecognised narrowing.
What to know
- Strict hand hygiene and skin antisepsis before every cannulation.
- Rotate needle sites unless you are using an established buttonhole technique.
- Apply steady, gentle pressure after needle removal — enough to stop bleeding, not enough to occlude flow.
- Report increasing difficulty with needling or prolonged bleeding after sessions; both suggest narrowing.
- Attend scheduled access surveillance appointments even when everything feels fine.
Talk to your care team
This topic is part of Vascular Access Care, one of ten modules in the Trivita Learning Hub. If anything here contradicts what your own nephrologist or dialysis nurse has told you, follow your care team — they know your prescription, your access and your history.
Trivita's dialysis nurses answer our care line 24 hours a day on 055 242 1070, including for people who are not yet our patients.
Education, not medical advice. This page explains home hemodialysis in general terms for patients and care partners in the UAE. It is reviewed by Trivita's Medical Director but cannot account for your individual circumstances. Never change a prescription, medication or technique based on this page alone.