The kidneys are two organs that filter wastes from the blood, maintain a healthy fluid balance, and regulate electrolytes. However, when they don't work correctly, wastes build up, and fluid accumulates, causing various health issues.
If you're living with severe kidney disease or kidney failure, you need dialysis to filter out dangerous wastes and fluids from the body. But how do you know which form of dialysis you require?
At Metro Renal Associates, our three experienced nephrologists provide three primary forms of dialysis to meet your needs. We evaluate the kidneys through diagnostic testing, urine tests, and blood pressure monitoring to determine the best treatment for you.
Dialysis is a necessary treatment for people living with kidney failure or end-stage renal disease. You may also require dialysis if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or an injury that affects kidney function.
These issues prevent the kidneys from adequately filtering out wastes and fluids, causing major health problems.
Dialysis aims to remove harmful wastes from the body and regulate fluid balance through a specialized machine. The machine uses a filter to separate harmful waste products from whole blood and return them to the body.
The machine also removes excess fluid from the blood, preventing dangerous fluid buildups, high blood pressure, and other complications.
Most people require dialysis at least three times per week, with each session lasting about four hours. However, the various types of dialysis require specific treatment schedules, along with each patient's needs.
Dialysis is a specific treatment for kidney disease, but there's more than one kind. We offer three main types of dialysis to remove wastes and restore electrolyte balances in people with kidney problems.
The three forms of dialysis include:
Peritoneal dialysis allows the tiny vessels in the abdominal cavity to filter blood while using a dialysis solution. Before you begin treatment, we surgically insert a catheter into the peritoneal cavity. In about three weeks, you can start peritoneal dialysis at home.
During the dialysis procedure, you connect the catheter in your abdomen to another tube connecting to a dialysis solution bag. The solution flows through the tube into the peritoneal cavity, which takes about 10 minutes.
You'll then disconnect the tube and keep the dialysis solution in the abdomen for about an hour. During this time, the solution absorbs excess fluids and wastes from the blood, performing the work of the kidneys.
After an hour or so, reconnect the catheter to a clean bag and allow the fluid to drain out. You need to perform peritoneal dialysis about four times a day. The fluid also stays in your abdomen overnight to remove waste while you sleep.
There is automated peritoneal dialysis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. We discuss both to determine which is best for your needs.
Hemodialysis is a treatment that utilizes an artificial kidney, or dialyzer, to filter blood from the body. Before undergoing your first treatment, you have a mild procedure to connect a vein to an artery in your arm. This is called an AV fistula.
The goal of the fistula is to enlarge the area where the blood leaves and enters the body, making dialysis faster and more efficient.
During hemodialysis at a facility, a nurse inserts a catheter into the AV fistula that attaches to the dialyzer. The machine moves blood from the body into the machine and filters waste products and excess fluids.
As the machine cleans and filters the blood, it returns the cleaned blood to the body through a separate catheter in your arm. It also monitors your blood pressure during the process to ensure it remains stable throughout the three-to-five-hour process.
Home hemodialysis is similar to in-facility hemodialysis, except you do it in the comfort of your house. Home hemodialysis often requires more than three weekly treatments, but each treatment is usually faster than in-facility hemodialysis.
If you choose home hemodialysis, you may need up to seven treatments per week. However, you can do it while sleeping, which many people find more convenient than in-facility hemodialysis.
At your appointment, we discuss each type of dialysis to help you decide which is best for you.
Call Metro Renal Associates in Washington, D.C., and Capitol Heights, Maryland, today to schedule a dialysis appointment, or use our convenient online booking tool to request a consultation.
