A Dream Come True: Freedom Holidays for Dialysis Patients

Peritoneal Dialysis – Freedom Holidays for Dialysis Patients

Peritoneal Dialysis or PD is a method in which the body of the patient itself is used for the purification process. The name peritoneal has roots in the methodology as well. Our anatomy provides for a natural semi – permeable membrane which surrounds the intestine; this feature of semi – permeability allows for the toxins and impurities in the blood to be purified in a natural manner. All that needs to be done is the introduction of the dialysis fluid into the abdominal cavity of the patient; it is then left there for purification for a couple of hours. After this has been done, the fluid just needs to be drained out from the same abdominal cavity and merely disposed off. It is relatively cheaper and more efficient than the extensive processes involved in Hemodialysis. A ‘catheter’ which can be easily understood as small connecting tube is inserted into the stomach wall of the patient through minor surgery, it is often placed near the navel.

• Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD)

Medical sciences and advancements have seen a reasonable growth in the precipitated field of dialysis at least, because this continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis allows for the patient to, whilst carrying the dialysis fluid in his abdominal cavity, walk around, maybe visit a friend or so and even take a vacation. This definitely allows us to imagine this as Freedom Holidays Dialysis. This is very obviously not the same in the case of the traditional dialysis process. In this process the patient avails of a dual bag system which is connected by a ‘Y’ piece to the catheter. The fluid is drained into the fresh bag which is then released into the abdomen where it rests for a period of about 4 to 6 hours, during which the patient is at his will do move where so ever he wishes. After the purification the waste is drained away, which takes about 30 – 40 minutes. This is repeated multiple times.

• Continuous cycler-assisted peritoneal dialysis (CCPD)

This continuous cycler-assisted peritoneal dialysis can be described as a mutual compromise between the traditional dialysis methodology and the abovementioned CAPD. In this dialysis the dialysis fluid is then again introduced and kept in the abdominal cavity of the patient for the process of purification but the difference is that it is done through a machine. The machine here is not a regular dialysis apparatus but is called a ‘cycler’. The machine fills and then drains the abdominal cavity of the patient when he is asleep thus maybe not being as affective as CAPD but is definitely more efficient that Hemodialysis. In this process though, the patient waits till it is time to sleep and then, connects himself to the machine, then falls asleep.