Auto news on Youtube May 29 2018

A provider answers a patient's question in his office.

What do I need to do to prepare for surgery?

Well, you need to keep taking good care of yourself --

eating well, taking your medicines,

and keeping your appointments.

It's also important to protect your veins.

And the way you protect your veins

is to not allow anyone to draw blood or put an IV

in any part of your arm above your wrist.

The surgeon will be operating on those veins,

and he doesn't want any extra holes in them.

So if someone needs to put an IV in you or to draw blood,

ask them to use one of the veins in your hand.

Usually, the fistula, or the graft,

if they can't put a fistula in, is put in the non-dominant arm.

What that means is, if you're right-handed,

they'll put it in your left arm.

But you need to protect the veins in both arms,

because sometime in the future, they may not be able

to use the veins in your left arm,

and they'll need to go to your right arm.

So these veins altogether are your lifeline,

and you need to protect them.