What is Dialysis?
It is the process of removing waste materials and excess fluid accumulated in the body of people whose kidneys are not functioning (under 15%) by means of a semi-permeable membrane. As a membrane, either the patient's natural peritoneum (peritoneal dialysis) or an artificial membrane (hemodialysis) is used. On one side of this semi-permeable membrane is the patient's blood and on the other side is a liquid called dialysate. Waste materials and excess liquid are removed from the body by passing to the clean side.
Peritoneal dialysis (abdominal dialysis): The patient's intra-abdominal membrane is used as the semi-permeable membrane. For use, a thin long tube called a catheter is placed under the umbilicus. The liquid is given here. After a certain period of time, the liquid is taken out. There are residual waste materials and excess body fluid in the fluid taken. This process is done four times a day or overnight with instruments that do this exchange.
Hemodialysis: This process is applied collectively in dialysis machines and centers opened for this purpose, or in the form of home dialysis connected to the center. To connect to the machine, you must have an intravenous line. This is provided by the catheters inserted into the medium-large veins or by a minor operation (fistula) usually performed on the left arm. Patients usually stay in the machine for four hours, three times a week.
