Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a condition that requires multidisciplinary management. In the early stages, there may be no symptoms. In later stages of the disease symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and fatigue. Patients can also experience swelling of feet, shortness of breath and can suffer from high blood pressure.
Dialysis is a form of renal replacement therapy that artificially takes over a large role of the kidneys, namely through ‘cleansing’ the blood of toxins and returning it to the body. This can be temporary when the kidney has been damaged but makes a recovery, or can be permanent where there is no possibility of recovery.
The surgical options for dialysis access include:
- Arteriovenous fistula or graft – a surgically created connection between the artery and the vein, that enables repetitive needling for repetitive withdrawal and injection of blood for arteriovenous dialysis
- Tunnelled catheters – a surgically inserted tube (‘Perm Cath’ or similar) into a large vein that allows repetitive withdrawal and injection of blood for arteriovenous dialysis. This is typically in one of the large veins of the neck (jugular vein)
- Peritoneal dialysis catheter – a surgically inserted tube (‘Tenckhoff’ catheter or similar) into the abdominal cavity that allows access for peritoneal dialysis
