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New Scope of Dialysis Services Benefits Patients
Kidney disease has been referred to as a “hidden disease” and can have devastating effects if not treated. There is a relationship between kidney disease and other health problems such as anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. If left untreated, the symptoms of kidney disease can be compounded by these other health conditions, increasing one’s risk for dialysis.
“Most people don’t realize they have kidney problems until they experience life threatening symptoms,” said Jonathan Weitzmann, M.D., a nephrologist with Faith Regional Nephrology Services. “By the time a problem is discovered, patients may have to resort to more advanced treatment options like dialysis.”
Dialysis is an artificial means of removing waste products from the body. In kidney failure (also called renal failure), the kidneys lose their ability to excrete enough waste products from the blood and to regulate the body’s balance of salt and water. Eventually, the kidneys slow their production of urine, or stop producing it completely. Waste products and water accumulate in the body. This can lead to a potentially life-threatening conditions such as overload of fluids (congestive heart failure), a dangerous accumulation of waste products in the blood, extreme changes in blood chemistry, and decreased red blood cell production that eventually can affect the function of the heart, brain and other organs.
Faith Regional Health Services expanded its renal dialysis program to offer inpatient dialysis. According to Jean Suehl, director of Faith Regional Dialysis Center, “Many of our patients come for treatment three times a week for three to four hours at a time. We feel adding the inpatient and peritoneal (in-home) dialysis programs provides more options to our patients while significantly improving their quality of life.”
Located in the solarium on the second floor at West campus, the newly remodeled inpatient dialysis unit is for patients who need dialysis services on a regular basis, or for the critically ill who may need the assistance of dialysis after surgery or illness. Set-up of the inpatient program required the installation of a sophisticated water filtering system to accommodate three dialysis machines, including one that is capable of continuous dialysis treatment.
Faith Regional also offers a home-based peritoneal dialysis program for patients who meet specific criteria, allowing them to perform hemodialysis in the comfort of their home. “There are several benefits to peritoneal dialysis,” Dr. Weitzmann added. “It improves the quality of dialysis by providing patients with daily or nightly treatment, and it gives patients the flexibility to live their life.”
Peritoneal dialysis requires a permanent port or catheter inserted into the natural cavity in the abdomen. This allows for quick and easy connection to a preprogrammed cycler machine. The cycler machine exchanges fluid in the body, where the peritoneum lining acts as a filter to remove waste from the body. Peritoneal dialysis can be performed either on a 12-hour nightly exchange or a 4-hour daily program.
Although dialysis is an advanced treatment for kidney disease, the best defense and treatment are early detection and appropriate treatment, which are vital in managing kidney problems. “Early detection can often save, prolong, or significantly improve a patient’s outcome and reduce the need for dialysis,” said Dr. Weitzmann.
For more information on Faith Regional Nephrology Services, please call (402) 844-8131.
Faith Regional Nephrology Services
Medical Offices North, Second Floor
301 N. 27th Street, Suite 10
Norfolk, NE 68701
Phone: (402) 844-8131
Last Updated: 6/1/2005
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