• If you need to start dialysis immediately, or if you don’t have veins
  suitable for a fistula or graft

How it’s made:

A physician will place the catheter into a large vein that goes straight
to your heart. The tips of the catheter will be placed in the heart. The
other end, the tail, will probably be tunneled under your skin and will
come out of your body under the collarbone. This opening in your
skin is called the exit site.

How it works:

Hemodialysis can begin right after your catheter is in place.
During your treatment, the dialysis center staff will connect your
catheter directly to a hemodialysis machine. One tube takes
blood to the hemodialysis machine to filter it. The other tube
returns the blood to your body. No needles are needed. An
adequate catheter should flow at least 300 mls per minute.