Kidney Failure

When an individual experiences kidney failure, the body will have trouble cleaning one's blood and maintaining the chemical balance within the body. Dialysis is a treatment option done to filter the blood when the body can no longer do this independently. There are two primary types of dialysis we perform at our outpatient facilities; hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. 

Hemodialysis incorporates the use of an artificial kidney to remove blood from the body and clean it. After the blood is cleaned, it is pumped back into the body. To create blood flow into the artificial kidney, a vascular access point is created by the doctor, usually in the arm. Treatments last 3-5 hours and are done 3 times a week in-office. This is the most common type of dialysis treatment.

Peritoneal Dialysis requires a peritoneal dialysis catheter be surgically placed before the dialysis treatments start. The peritoneal dialysis catheter helps filter the blood through the lining of the abdomen, an area called the peritoneum. During this treatment, a dialysate is pumped into the peritoneum area. This dialysate fluid absorbs waste and toxins from the bloodstream and then the dialysate is removed from the body.

 Dialysis treatments can be done with the following procedures: