A functioning dialysis access is for many patients far more than a technical detail. It is a lifeline. Without a reliable vascular access, safe and regular haemodialysis is not possible.
In my daily work as a vascular surgeon, dialysis access surgery has been one of my central areas of focus for many years — from the first arteriovenous fistula to complex revisions, interventional procedures and challenging situations involving central venous occlusions.
Time and again, I find that good dialysis access medicine goes far beyond the operation itself. It requires careful planning, experience, timing and close collaboration between surgery, nephrology, dialysis centres, nursing staff, interventional colleagues — and of course the patients themselves.
This is precisely why Vascular Access Talk was created.
This site is intended to be a place where I share thoughts, experiences and observations from daily clinical practice: clinical questions, typical challenges, new developments, interesting publications and practical aspects of shunt surgery and dialysis access medicine.
The content is aimed at colleagues from vascular surgery, nephrology, interventional medicine and dialysis nursing — but also at interested patients who would like to better understand why certain decisions are made and what factors are important for a long-term functioning dialysis access.
Vascular Access Talk is not a substitute for individual medical advice and not an official institutional statement. It is a personal specialist blog — shaped by clinical experience, scientific interest and the desire to promote exchange on this important topic.
I hope this site contributes to sharing knowledge, raising questions and making the dialogue around dialysis access more vibrant.
Dr. Vladimir Matoussevitch
Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
Dialysis Access Surgery