Kidney Disease - Treatment

There is no known cure for chronic kidney disease. Treatment focuses on controlling symptoms, minimizing complications, and slowing the progression of the disease. Treatment for ESRD is limited to dialysis and transplantation.
Control of associated diseases that cause or result from chronic kidney failure is extremely important. These diseases include:
- Hypertension
- Atherosclerosis
- Glomerulosclerosis
- Glomerulonephritis
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Glucose Intolerance
Exercise is a critical component of treatment for CKD and ESRD at all stages of the disease.
When chronic kidney disease progresses to end-stage renal disease, the only remaining treatment options are dialysis and transplantation. (www.kidney.org). The medical care of patients with end-stage renal disease (dialysis, transplantation) costs in excess of three trillion dollars a year [31].

hemodialysis: an artificial kidney (hemodialyzer) is used to remove waste and extra chemicals and fluid from your blood. Access into your blood vessels is done by minor surgery to your arm or leg. Sometimes, an access is made by joining an artery to a vein under your skin to make a bigger blood vessel called a fistula. If your blood vessels are not adequate for a fistula, a graft may be used to join an artery and a vein under your skin. Occasionally, an access is made by means of a narrow plastic tube, called a catheter, which is inserted into a large vein in your neck. This type of access may be temporary, but is sometimes used for long-term treatment.

(image borrowed from healthgate.partners.org)

peritoneal dialysis: In this type of dialysis, your blood is cleaned inside your body. Surgery to place a plastic tube called a catheter into your abdomen. During the treatment, your abdominal area (peritoneal cavity) is slowly filled with dialysate through the catheter. The blood stays in the arteries and veins that line your peritoneal cavity, while extra fluid and waste products are drawn out of your blood and into the dialysate.

(image borrowed from healthgate.partners.org)

kidney transplant: If the damage is severe enough, transplantation may be necessary. A transplant provides a patient with a kidney that can keep up with the demands of a full, active life. Some facts regarding kidney transplant surgery:

Each year more than 25,000 people in North America develop end-stage renal disease and would die without dialysis or transplantation.

There are now some 70,000 individuals in the world with functioning renal transplants.

Nearly 7,000 renal transplant operations are now being performed annually in North America.

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