Peritoneal Dialysis

- Peritoneal dialysis is a treatment for kidney failure that uses the lining of your abdomen, or
belly, to filter your blood inside your body. Health care providers call this lining the peritoneum.
A few weeks before you start peritoneal dialysis, a surgeon places a soft tube, called a catheter,
in your belly.

 Where it is done: At home

 How often it is done: Daily, 4 to 6 times per day or in the night.

 Duration of the procedure: 3 to 5 hours per day in total

 Complexity of the procedure:

Using laparoscopic surgery, a peritoneal catheter is inserted into the lining of the abdominal wall
(peritoneum), which provides an access to the abdominal cavity. The patient can use this access 2 weeks
after it has been created.

On a daily basis, the patient must fill the abdominal cavity with a special fluid (dialysate filter), through
this access point. The fluid cleans the blood through the internal walls of the abdomen and then drains
into a collection bag which the patient or a caretaker must empty out.

 Ability to work: This procedure can be done at night, which means, the patient can perform
his/her normal activities during the day. The person can even travel, as long as he/she is able to
perform this procedure on his/her own, in a clean place.
 Side effects of the procedure: Risk of infection of the Catheter(or) abdomen and limitation of
membrane function.
 Restrictions: There are fewer restrictions to diet with this procedure compared to hemodialysis.