Kidney Treatments for Children

At CHRISTUS Health, we provide an array of pediatric kidney dialysis for children and adolescents. Dialysis is a process in which waste products and extra water are removed from the body in patients who have developed sudden or long-term kidney failure. The two main types of dialysis are hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. 

Hemodialysis

In hemodialysis, your blood is removed from your body through a catheter or arteriovenous fistula/graft and passed through an artificial kidney machine that filters wastes, salts and fluid from your blood. This removes the chemical wastes, extra salt and extra fluid from the body. The clean blood is then returned to the body through a tubing system. In children, hemodialysis is done in the dialysis center (called in-center conventional hemodialysis), typically three to 6 times a week for children with chronic kidney failure. You will see many healthcare specialists at the clinic, including doctors, nurses, dialysis technicians and a few others. 

Peritoneal Dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis is a treatment that cleans your blood by using the lining of your belly area (abdomen), called your peritoneum, and a cleaning solution called dialysate. The peritoneum is a porous or sponge-like membrane that allows metabolic waste products, toxins, and excess fluid to be filtered from the blood. A soft tube (catheter) is used to fill the belly with the cleaning solution. Waste and extra fluid in the blood pass through the peritoneum into the dialysate. The dialysate fluid then drains out through a catheter and is thrown away. Peritoneal dialysis is done by Parents/Guardians at home or even at work if you have a private, clean area.

Apheresis 

This describes a process in which whole blood is taken from a patient or blood donor, passed through a machine that then separates the components of the whole blood. These components include plasma and cells. One or more of the blood components are removed and discarded and the remaining components are returned to the patient or donor. This procedure is used for the treatment of multiple medical conditions including the following:

• Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
• Acute Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Post-transplant recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis
• Hyperviscosity syndromes (e.g monoclonal gammopathy)
• Familial hypercholesterolemia
• Fulminant Wilson’s disease

Hypertension Clinic

• Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring study
• Dietary counseling
• Weight loss education for overweight and obesity

Additional Services

• Dialysis for poisoning and intoxications
• Training and support services for home PD
• Dietary and social services
• Access to interpreter/sign language services
• Transition planning to adult care