Establishing a dialysis access center.

Nephrologists are familiar with the attention to detail and the arduous process of starting dialysis units. This familiarity gives them the foundation to start a dialysis access center. Nephrologists care for some of the most critically ill patients and perform minimally invasive procedures which allows them to adapt their skills to interventional nephrology. The nephrologist has been a leader among subspecialists in disease management, improving outcome at lowered costs. By establishing an access center, the interventional nephrologist can declot the thrombosed graft using mechanical thrombolysis, do venogram and angioplasty on the dysfunctional access and place cuff catheters for temporary access. The interventional nephrologist thus becomes the primary physician responsible for a very crucial part of the dialysis patient's care, the vascular access, thereby improving the present standard of nephrology practice.