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Narrator: A provider answers a patient's question
in her office.
I feel fine.
Why do I have to see a surgeon now?
You know, that's the interesting thing.
Most patients tell me that they feel fine,
but I have to tell you why you need to see a surgeon now.
We need to do a treatment called hemodialysis -- big word.
This hemodialysis requires for us
to get blood in and out of your body.
The way for us to do so is not just through an IV
when you get IVs or get blood work
'cause those needles are too small,
and the amount of blood that comes out is too little.
What we need is a big amount of blood to come out of your body,
to go into this machine that will clean it,
and to come back to you.
To be able to do that, there are things that a surgeon can do,
but it needs to mature.
It needs to get healed, and it needs to get ready.
That takes several weeks to several months.
So, even though you feel fine now,
we need to send you to the doctor, the surgeon,
so that he can get you -- or she can get you ready
for this treatment called hemodialysis.
So, how do we do that?
Well, the surgeons -- if I could borrow your arm --
The surgeons will put a fistula -- another big word --
but this fistula is a connection between two blood vessels --
a vein and an artery.
It can happen here, or it can happen here.
This fistula will connect these two blood vessels,
and they will grow into a bigger blood vessel.
These bigger blood vessels we can access with a bigger needle,
and that way, we can get blood in and out of your body
to do this hemodialysis.