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Kidney Dialysis |
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Acute kidney failure is a serious and life-threatening disease. The kidneys play an important role in maintaining the balance of electrolytes and body fluids and help to eliminate toxic substances by filtering them from the blood and eliminating them in the urine. Patients may recover from an acute insult but they often need time for the kidneys to heal and regain adequate function. A kidney dialysis machine is a complex array of pumps and filters that remove blood from the body and return it with waste products removed and the normal electrolyte balance restored.
Four Seasons Animal Hospital uses dialysis machines designed for intensive care patients that need continuous support for their ailing kidneys. This treatment, called Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT), was introduced to veterinary critical care in the 1990’s by Dr. Jan Kovacic. It can be used for patients with acute renal failure, patients with chronic kidney disease that have an acute episode from which it is otherwise difficult to recover, and for patients that have ingested a toxin that can be removed by dialysis. |
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