Anesthesia for Dialysis Access

Although dialysis access surgery is commonly a minor procedure with minimal blood loss, simply carrying the diagnosis of advanced CKD or ESRD significantly increases the risk of periprocedural morbidity. This chapter introduces the basics of appropriate preprocedural evaluation for anesthesia, followed by a comparison of the various anesthetic techniques common for access surgery, including local, general, and regional anesthesia. The techniques and expected coverage of various regional anesthesia levels, their potential complications, and overall management strategies are also reviewed.