TREATMENT: DIALYSIS

Dialysis allows people with temporary kidney failure caused by infection or injury to survive until their kidneys heal. Dialysis also allows people with chronic kidney failure to survive while they wait for transplantation surgery.

There are two types of dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. In hemodialysis, a dialysis machine filters blood from the body as it flows directly from an access point. Then, blood is taken via a tube attached to the fistula or shunt and circulated through the dialysis machine. Peritoneal dialysis, however, is performed at home and uses the lining of the abdomen, the peritoneum, as a filter. The fluid is left in the system long enough for all the wastes in the blood to be transferred to the dialysis fluid, which is then drained out of the abdomen. The process takes 30-40 minutes, but in most cases must be repeated four times a day.

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