When the kidney function becomes too low, the body is not able to remove the excess waste products, fluids, potassium or acid effectively and the situation gradually becomes life threatening. Dialysis is the treatment that takes over the function of kidney to help correct these abnormalities. Dialysis is a life saving and life sustaining treatment. There are various types of dialysis.

A soft catheter is placed in the belly. A specially prepared fluid is put into the belly using this tube, kept in for a while and drained. This is called an exchange. The waste products leave the body via a membrane that lines the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum. Several exchanges are needed. These can be done manually by the patient during the day or with the help of a machine while the patient is sleeping at night

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A soft catheter is placed in the belly. A specially prepared fluid is put into the belly using this tube, kept in for a while and drained. This is called an exchange. The waste products leave the body via a membrane that lines the abdominal cavity called the peritoneum. Several exchanges are needed. These can be done manually by the patient during the day or with the help of a machine while the patient is sleeping at night

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​The best way to get the blood and return it to the body for this procedure is a connection between the artery and the vein in the upper arm or lower arm. This is called an arteriovenous fistula. Sometimes, if the patient’s veins are insufficient a synthetic tube can be placed and this is called an arteriovenous graft.  If these are not available a catheter can be placed in the big veins of the neck to draw the blood required for hemodialysis. Though it is ideal to have an arteriovenous fistula for dialysis, a dialysis catheter can be used to perform dialysis if a fistula or graft is not currently available for use.

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