Hemodialysis

What is hemodialysis?

Hemodialysis is the process of filtering excess water and waste from your blood when your kidneys aren’t functioning properly.

While it’s not a cure for kidney failure, hemodialysis can help relieve uncomfortable symptoms and prolong your life.

This treatment also plays a role in keeping your blood pressure healthy and balancing sodium and other minerals in your blood to prevent serious complications.

Am I a candidate for hemodialysis?

You might be a candidate for hemodialysis if you have chronic kidney disease or end-stage kidney failure and your kidneys aren’t able to filter your blood properly.

The medical team offers bloodwork, urine testing, and other diagnostic services to assess kidney health. If your blood tests identify abnormal levels of potassium and other minerals, you might need hemodialysis. 

You may also need hemodialysis if you have complications from fluids building up in your body.

Sun City Kidney, PA offers in-office and home hemodialysis services. Home hemodialysis allows you to undergo treatment several times a week from the comfort of your own home. Your provider can determine how often you need hemodialysis, depending on your condition. 

Resources are also available to train you in setting up your dialysis machine properly.

What happens during hemodialysis?

To start the hemodialysis process, your provider inserts two needles in your arm. The needles connect to a dialysis machine using soft tubes. 

When the dialysis machine starts, your blood is pumped out of your body through one tube. It travels into the machine to filter out excess fluids and waste before returning to your body via the other tube.

The machine continually measures your blood pressure, regulates how fast your blood moves through the filter, and controls how much fluid it’s removing from your body. 

You can expect your in-office treatment to last up to four hours. If you do home hemodialysis more often, your treatment times may be shorter.

Hemodialysis can’t replace all of your kidney function. However, after treatment, you should experience less swelling and more energy. Your provider can also prescribe medications to rebalance minerals and electrolytes in your body, so you stay healthy.

To learn more about the treatment benefits of hemodialysis, call Sun City Kidney, PA today or book a consultation online.