Management of CRF

Dialysis

Hemodialysis

In hemodialysis, blood is taken from a large artery and enters the hemodialyzer (an artificial kidney) which filters waste products from the cat's blood. The filtered blood is then returned to the cat through a large vein. Since a cat has a small volume of blood, and the dialyzer needs quite a large amount of blood to operate, hemodialysis is generally not available for cats.

Few veterinary facilities are able and equipped to perform this procedure. In the future, technological advances may make this treatment more commonly available..

Hemodialysis is mainly used to treat Acute Renal Failure. Cost and clinical procedure are limiting factors in the use of hemodialysis for Chronic Renal Failure.

Facilities

Hemodialysis is available for feline patients at all of the facilities listed below.

University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Davis, California 95616
(530) 752-1393
The World's First Hemodialysis Program for Companion Animals - UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health CCAH Update, Fall 1998, page 2

UC Veterinary Medical Center - San Diego
10435 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 101
San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: (858) 875-7505
FAX: (858) 875-7584
e-mail: sdhemodialysi@ucvmcsd.ucdavis.edu
Kidney Dialysis for Sick Pets Comes to Southern California - UC Davis

Louisiana State University
School of Veterinary Medicine
Companion Animal Medicine
Baton Rouge, LA 70803-8410
Mark Acierno, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM
Assistant Professor / Dialysis Service Coordinator
(225) 578-9600

University of Pennsylvania
Ryan Veterinary Hospital
3900 Delancey St.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
(215) 898-4680

The Animal Medical Center
510 East 62nd St.
New York, New York 10021
(212) 838-8100
Hemodialysis for Companion Animals

Tufts Cummings
School of Veterinary Medicine
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536
(508) 839-5302

General Information

Dialysis is becoming an option for ailing pets - Tracy Vogel, Sr. Staff Writer, VetCentric

Kidney Dialysis, Is It For Your Pet? By Wendy C. Brooks, DVM, DipABVP VeterinaryPartner.com

Peritoneal dialysis

Peritoneal dialysis uses the peritoneum (the thin lining of the abdominal cavity) as the filter for separating waste products from larger substances. The dialysis is performed with a special tube that a veterinarian uses to fill the cat's abdominal cavity with dialysis fluid. Waste products in the body suffuse into the fluid. The doctor then removes the fluid from the abdominal cavity and discards it, repeating the procedure until the level of waste products is adequately reduced.

Peritoneal dialysis is easy to perform in cats and is not painful for the patient. The need for constant monitoring and professional application usually limits the use of peritoneal dialysis to the treatment of reversible acute renal failures where the dialysis performs the waste removal function of the kidneys while the kidneys themselves are recovering.