DIALYSIS 

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The Dialysis unit comprises 25 beds for providing Haemodialysis support to Inpatients and Outpatients.

Dialysis is a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the Kidneys stop working properly. It often involves diverting blood to a machine to be cleaned.

Normally, the Kidneys filter the blood, removing harmful waste products and excess fluid and turning these into urine to be passed out of the body.

If your Kidneys aren’t working properly – for example, because you have Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease (Kidney Failure) – the Kidneys may not be able to clean the blood properly.

Waste products and fluids can build up to dangerous levels in your body. Left untreated, this can cause a number of unpleasant symptoms and eventually be fatal. Dialysis filters out unwanted substances and fluids from the blood before this happens.

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Haemodialysis

Haemodialysis is the most common type of dialysis and the one most people are aware of. During the procedure, a tube is attached to a needle in your arm. Blood passes along the tube and into an external machine that filters it before it’s passed back into the arm along another tube.

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Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal Dialysis uses the inside lining of your abdomen (the Peritoneum) as the filter, rather than a machine. Like the Kidneys, the Peritoneum contains thousands of tiny blood vessels, making it a useful filtering device. Before treatment starts, a cut (incision) is made near your belly button and a thin tube called a catheter is inserted through the incision and into the space inside your abdomen (the peritoneal cavity). This is left in place permanently. Fluid is pumped into the peritoneal cavity through the catheter. As blood passes through the blood vessels lining the peritoneal cavity, waste products and excess fluid are drawn out of the blood and into the dialysis fluid. The used fluid is drained into a bag a few hours later and replaced with fresh fluid. Changing the fluid usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes and normally needs to be repeated around 4 times a day.

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SLEDD Dialysis

Slow, Low, Efficient, Daily Dialysis (SLEDD) is a form of Renal Replacement Therapy for the Critical Care setting. The slow continuous removal of solute and water tends to offer greater Hemodynamic Stability than a Conventional Haemodialysis Treatment.