Kidneys perform several important functions, and nephrology is the branch of medicine that focuses on them. Kidneys get rid of waste and extra fluids to keep them from building up in your body. They keep safe levels of minerals in your blood, including potassium, sodium, calcium, and bicarbonate. And they help regulate your blood pressure.

If your kidneys stop doing these tasks, you may have kidney failure or acute kidney failure. Acute kidney failure is when the problem is short-term. You need treatment for a while, then you will be back to normal. Kidney failure, also called end-stage kidney disease, means you need treatment for the rest of your life, or until you get a kidney transplant.

The treatment we use is called dialysis. It has helped millions of patients. Mount Sinai South Nassau offers dialysis at our Outpatient Dialysis Center in Oceanside, New York.

Outpatient Dialysis Treatment

Our Outpatient Dialysis Center has 18 patient stations. Each is equipped with the latest dialysis technology. The experts at Mount Sinai South Nassau strive to help you and your family. We provide:

• Patient and family education
• Rehabilitation
  • Physical therapy and exercise
  • Strength and mobility training
  • Fatigue management
  • Nutrition support
  • Management of dialysis-related problems
  • Occupational therapy
  • Psychological/social support
  • Education and self-management
  • Goal setting
• Advice on maintaining a high quality of life
• Lifestyle changes that can improve your health
• Diet changes that can help
• Advice on stress management

How Dialysis Works

Dialysis involves removing your blood, filtering it through a machine, and returning it to your body. Your doctor will make an “access point” that we will use to insert a needle into a vein or artery. Then we use the needle to connect you to the filtering machine. Each treatment takes three or four hours. Most people have three dialysis treatments a week.

We want to make sure you are comfortable during treatment. To do so, we provide:

• Personal lighting and heating control
• Satellite-linked, high-definition TVs
• High-speed internet services

Home Therapy Program

The Home Therapy Program at Mount Sinai South Nassau offers qualified patients an option of home hemodialysis therapy or peritoneal dialysis. Both use a cycler to move cleansing fluid (called dialysate) in and out of your belly.

The benefits of home therapy include:

• Higher quality of life
• Less medication
• More relaxed food rules
• Treatment flexibility
• Less energy used on dialysis
• Easier to travel
• Increased chance of a transplant

Peritoneal Dialysis

This approach uses a soft belly tube and fluid to filter blood through your stomach lining. It:

• Requires no needles
• Uses a peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter inserted in your abdomen
• Includes choice of either continuous cyclic peritoneal dialysis (CCPD) while you’re asleep or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) during the day
• Uses an Amia® cycler, or dialysis machine, which is voice guided

Home Hemodialysis

With this approach, you use a machine and needles to filter blood outside your body. It requires:

• Five or six weeks of training for you and your care partner
• Surgically implanted vascular access
• A NxStage® cycler device, which is light and portable

Is Home Dialysis right for you?
People who hear they need home dialysis often have questions. Below we address some of the most common.

What if something happens while I am under treatment?
Home dialysis has proven to be safe. Before you go home, the nurse will train you to handle common problems. The nurse will also explain what to do if an emergency should occur. We offer 24-hour technical support through NxStage and Baxter, which makes the Amia device. In addition, Mount Sinai has a home dialysis nurse on call to help with any questions or concerns.

Will home dialysis scare my family?
The training nurse will make sure you and your care partner are comfortable with all aspects of your treatment before you start doing it at home.

How will I have the time to do home dialysis at home?
You will probably end up having more time by doing dialysis at home. You will save time by not having to travel to and from the dialysis unit. You also won’t have to wait to begin or finish treatment, as you do when you get dialysis at a facility.

Can I travel with home dialysis?
Yes. NxStage and Baxter can deliver supplies to your destination within the United States. You will need to coordinate this in advance.