Nephrology

Renal Dialysis and Procedures

Dialysis, the more common form of kidney-replacement therapy, is a way of cleaning the blood with an artificial kidney. There are two types of dialysis: haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Haemodialysis: In hemodialysis, an artificial kidney removes waste from the blood. A surgeon must first create an "access," a place where blood can easily be taken from the body and sent to the artificial kidney for cleaning. The access, usually in the forearm, can be made from the patient's own blood vessels or from a piece of implanted tubing. The access is inside the body and cannot be seen from the outside. Usually, this surgery is done 2 to 3 months before dialysis starts so the body has time to heal.

Peritoneal dialysis: Another form of dialysis is called peritoneal dialysis. The lining inside your abdomen becomes the filter. A soft plastic tube is put into the abdomen by a surgeon. The two main types of peritoneal dialysis are continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis. People perform CAPD themselves by attaching a plastic bag filled with cleansing fluid to the tube in the abdomen and raising it to shoulder level. In CCPD, a machine puts the cleansing fluid into the abdomen and drains it automatically. This is usually done at night during sleep.