In order to have hemodialysis, you will need to have surgery to join one of your arteries to a vein in your arm. This will make a bigger vein called a fistula. Needles are put into this fistula and joined to the artificial kidney machine. This machine cleans the blood and takes away waste materials that build up in your body. The treatments last about four hours and usually need to be done three times a week.
Peritoneal dialysis is used often in patients with diabetes.
In this type of dialysis, the patient's blood is not cleaned outside the body as with hemodialysis. The lining of this space acts like a filter. A plastic tube called a catheter is placed into your abdomen during surgery to create an access. Your blood is cleaned and waste materials are taken away in the dialysate. Three kinds of peritoneal dialysis can be done.