Types of Dialysis: What type of dialysis is best for me? Overview of the three types of dialysis.
Release Date: 07/18/2023
What is New in Kidney Transplant?
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
This episode of Let's Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Saim, a nephrologist with Dallas Nephrology Associates, discusses what is new in kidney transplant. The podcast discusses advancements in kidney transplantation, focusing on the benefits and risks of living and deceased donor transplant. Dr. Saim highlights that over 25,000 transplants were performed last year, with nearly 7,000 from living donors. Living donor transplants offer better survival rates and shorter waiting time. The waiting list has nearly 100,000 patients, with blood group O having the longest wait. ...
info_outline
Dialysis Patients and Their Diet
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Let's Talk About Kidneys Dialysis Patients and Their Diet In this episode of Let’s Talk About Kidneys, Dr. Rao, a nephrologist at Dallas Nephrology Associates, discusses the importance of diet for all dialysis patients. She emphasizes the need for dietary modifications even before dialysis, focusing on reducing salt intake, managing potassium and phosphorus levels, and maintaining adequate protein consumption. Introduction Dr. Rao shares her background, mentioning that she joined Dallas Nephrology Associates fifteen years ago and sees patients mostly in Mesquite, Sunnyvale, and...
info_outline
New Treatment Therapies In Kidney Care
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Roberto Collazo addresses the development of new treatments for kidney disease that are essential for slowing disease progression, improving patient outcomes, and preventing kidney failure. Throughout his discussion, he will examine various therapeutic options currently available, as well as those expected in the future. What types of treatments have there been in the past for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)? Dr. Collazo addressed the medications available during the 1990s and early 2000s. He also discussed newly...
info_outline
Weight Management Strategies with CKD
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dallas Nephrology Associates Dietitian, Nadiya Lakhani, RDN, CSR, LD, FNKF, explains why weight management is important to the general population and how it affects the kidneys. How does weight affect the kidneys? When the body carries more weight than it can handle, it increases the demand on the kidneys to hyper filtrate. In other words, it forces your kidneys to work harder, which will eventually cause them to be overworked. On the flip side, unintentional weight loss increases the risk of that person having increased...
info_outline
Kidney Transplant - Getting Started
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Muhammad Qureshi talks about the benefits of a kidney transplant, why it’s a good choice after kidney failure, and what the process looks like before, during and after. Why should a CKD patient consider a kidney transplant? Dr. Qureshi talks about the fact that there are both mortality and morbidity benefits of a kidney transplant. In other words, not only do you live longer, but you live better. Who qualifies for a kidney transplant? Anyone who has a kidney function less than 20% or someone who has already...
info_outline
Considering Dialysis at Home
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Lauren McDonald talks about the types of dialysis that can be done successfully in your own home including home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. She puts extra emphasis on the fact that choosing the right dialysis modality is a very personal choice and should be made based on a patient’s lifestyle and what is most important to them. Overview of Home Hemodialysis Home hemodialysis is done in the home. Currently, the dialysis machine is about the size of a nightstand and everything is self contained. It does require 3.5...
info_outline
Types of Dialysis: What type of dialysis is best for me? Overview of the three types of dialysis.
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
In this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Richey talks about the different types of dialysis and provides an overview to help patients and caregivers to understand what is involved and how to decide which modality is right for each patient. When is dialysis necessary? Dialysis is recommended when a patient’s kidneys can no longer safely support them. This is determined based on several factors: Creatinine levels Potassium levels Fluid overload Dr. Richey also mentions that doctors consider how the patient feels in addition to the items above. Can...
info_outline
A Day in the Life of a Nephrologist
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
No day is ever the same for a nephrologist. Dallas Nephrology Associates’ Dr. Paul Skluzacek may see his kidney patients in the office, have hospital rounds, dialysis rounds and much more. In this episode of Let’s Talk About Kidneys, learn about Dr. Skluzacek’s busy days providing patient care and how his schedule changes from one day to another. What is a Nephrologist? are kidney doctors. They have special training that includes completion of medical school followed by a residency in Internal Medicine and then additional specialty training in Nephrology. They treat systemic...
info_outline
Sodium and Your CKD Diet
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
When most people think of sodium, they think of salt. In this episode of Let’s Talk About Kidneys, Dallas Nephrology Associates’ Senior Clinical Dietitian Carolyn Cochran breaks down what sodium is, how to identify it in common foods and ways to make lifestyle adjustments for healthier kidneys. What is sodium? Sodium is one of three important electrolytes found in the body. Electrolytes control the fluids going in and out of your body’s tissues and cells. “Sodium is essential for life,” Carolyn says. “It's in animals, vegetables, minerals and is important...
info_outline
What to Expect at Your First Visit with a Nephrologist
Let’s Talk About Kidneys
Your first visit to the doctor after being diagnosed with kidney disease can be a big deal. Tune into this episode where Dallas Nephrologist Dr. Michael R. Wiederkehr breaks down what to expect at your first visit with a nephrologist at Dallas Nephrology Associates. Why do I need to see a Nephrologist? Nephrologists – experts in kidney care – treat conditions that affect the kidneys. Primary care physicians run routine blood or urine tests. When these results are abnormal, it could indicate that something is wrong with the kidneys. In this case, the primary care doctor...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Let’s Talk About Kidneys podcast, Dr. Richey talks about the different types of dialysis and provides an overview to help patients and caregivers to understand what is involved and how to decide which modality is right for each patient.
When is dialysis necessary?
Dialysis is recommended when a patient’s kidneys can no longer safely support them. This is determined based on several factors:
-
Creatinine levels
-
Potassium levels
-
Fluid overload
Dr. Richey also mentions that doctors consider how the patient feels in addition to the items above. Can they do things they could normally do in the past?
What are the types of dialysis?
There are three main options for dialysis:
-
In-center hemodialysis
-
Home hemodialysis
-
Peritoneal dialysis (performed at home)
How does dialysis work?
With hemodialysis a patient’s blood is run through a machine. The machine cleans the blood, removes extra fluid, and then the cleaned blood is returned back to the patient. Both in-center hemodialysis and home hemodialysis follow the same basic process.
Peritoneal dialysis is very different. With peritoneal dialysis, the patient’s own body is used to do the filtering. A catheter goes into the patient’s abdomen and through the peritoneum. A special fluid goes into the catheter and through the peritoneum there is an exchange of toxins and fluid removal. Then you empty that fluid out from the abdomen.
What are the different types of access points for dialysis?
Access to the patient’s blood is required for dialysis. The most common access for both in-center and home hemodialysis is an arteriovenous (AV) fistula or arteriovenous (AV) graft. Through a surgical procedure, an artery and vein are sealed together to allow for blood flow directly through the artery and into the vein. This allows for a higher rate of blood flow.
For peritoneal dialysis, a special catheter is inserted into the abdomen. It sits low in the pelvis area and a small length of tubing comes from under the skin for access.
What would qualify a patient to do home hemodialysis?
Most patients can do home hemodialysis. However, there are a few things that make in-center dialysis a better option including:
-
If the patient is unable to participate in the training which can take 4-6 weeks for hemodialysis.
-
If the patient doesn’t have good vision.
-
If they don’t have good family support.
-
If they don’t have the appropriate space in their home for the supplies and equipment.
What is the typical hemodialysis schedule?
In-center treatment will take place three days a week and, on average, patients will be at the center for four hours per treatment.
Peritoneal dialysis is a seven day a week treatment. Some patients are able to do this while they sleep, but others will do it during the day.
What medications are used in combination with dialysis?
The most common medication used with dialysis is anti-hypertensive medications to lower blood pressure. We also use phosphorus binders to avoid long term complications with their bones and blood vessels. Other considerations can include vitamin D or medications for anemia or low blood count.