Peritoneal Dialysis

What is dialysis?

Dialysis is a treatment that takes the place of your natural kidney function. The kidneys are responsible for filtering waste. They remove excess fluids from the blood, allowing them to exit the body as urine. Without proper kidney function, toxins and other impurities build in your body. This process can also disrupt your hormones, electrolyte levels, and immune function.

Without a kidney transplant, dialysis is the only way to filter waste from the blood. The treatment involves physically removing waste from your blood to prevent waste buildup.

Are there different types of dialysis?

The two most popular types of dialysis are:

Peritoneal dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis filters waste through your own abdominal cavity lining, called the peritoneum, and is the only type you can complete at home. This type of dialysis allows you to avoid going to the dialysis center several times a week, for several hours at a time, in order to complete your treatments.  Many patients are able to work, go to school or follow their regular lifestyle using this type of dialysis.  During placement, Dr. Quinones performs a minimally invasive laparoscopic procedure to insert a thin tube called a catheter into your abdomen.

After a quick recovery, patients can instill dialysis solution into the peritoneal cavity through the catheter, absorbing waste for up to five hours, while resting comfortably at home. Once the process is complete, you can throw away the bag. Peritoneal dialysis allows you more flexibility than hemodialysis because you don’t have to connect to an outside machine during treatment.

Hemodialysis

Hemodialysis uses a machine that acts as an artificial kidney to filter waste from your blood. In order to connect your bloodstream to the machine, a surgery is performed on your arm which connects an artery to a vein, called a fistula.  This connection enlarges the vein, making it easy for a technician to stick a large needle into the fistula every time you need dialysis.  Patients usually require going to a dialysis center for about four hours, three times a week for this treatment.  We believe that a peritoneal catheter frees the patient to live a fuller life, with less interruption from dialysis.

Why might I need dialysis?

Dialysis is the only effective alternative to a kidney transplant if you have chronic kidney disease, also called renal failure. Some conditions can resolve after several weeks of dialysis. However, if you have end-stage renal failure, you must stay on dialysis until you receive a kidney transplant.

Contact Q&S Surgical by phone today or schedule an appointment online to find out if peritoneal dialysis is right for you.