This book aims to educate general and vascular surgeons on all pertinent aspects of peritoneal dialysis (PD). Most surgeons get very little training in residency on this topic, and the use of PD is growing around the world. Much of the book will focus on implantation techniques, especially laparoscopic insertions. The authors will describe the known adjunct procedures that have been shown to decrease dysfunction rates. The aim is to provide greater patient autonomy, a better quality of life, preservation of residual renal function and a higher survival advantage.

For more than a generation haemodialysis has been the principal method of treating patients with both acute and chronic renal failure. Initially, developments and improvements in the system were highly technical and relevant to only a relatively small number of specialists in nephrology. More recently, as advances in therapy have dem onstrated the value of haemofiltration in the intensive therapy unit and haemoperfusion for certain types of poisoning, the basic principles of haemodialysis have been perceived as important in many areas of clinical practice. In this volume, the potential advantages of bicarbonate haemo dialysis are objectively assessed, the technical and clinical aspects of both haemofiltration and haemoperfusion discussed and the con tinuing problems associated with such extra corporeal circuits analysed. All the chapters have been written by recognized experts in their field. The increasing availability of highly technical facilities for appropriately selected patients should ensure that the information contained in the book is relevant not only to nephrologists but to all practising clinicians. ABOUT THE EDITOR Dr Graeme R. D. Catto is Professor in Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Consultant Phy sician/Nephrologist to the Grampian Health Board. His current inter est in transplant immunology was stimulated as a Harkness Fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Peter Bent Brighton Hospital, Boston, USA. He is a member of many medical societies including the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, the Renal Association and the Transplantation Society.

While continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been the standard peritoneal procedure since the seventies, different schedules of automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) have emerged during the eighties. Today, APD is considered a valuable tool in the management of ESRD patients, together with CAPD and hemodialysis. However, despite its frequent use, APD has not yet been well assessed, and most pathophysiological and clinical studies on PD refer to CAPD. In this book, major experts in the field therefore discuss and evaluate the insights gained on APD up to now, presenting a comprehensive review of all experimental, technical and clinical aspects related to the various treatments grouped under the definition of APD. The recent developments presented are divided into four sections: membrane permeability, transport mechanisms and kinetic modeling applied to APD; prescription and adequacy of different APD treatment schedules; dialysis machines and solutions for APD, and, lastly, different clinical aspects such as the possibility to maintain APD program and residual renal function. Physicians involved in ESRD care, renal fellows and scientists both in the academic world and in the hospital setting will undoubtedly profit from this timely publication.

This book is unique in addressing the management and complications of PD-related peritonitis to reduce morbidity and mortality. It addresses the measures to prevent peritonitis, types of tools used for diagnosis, including molecular techniques, the focus of microbiologists for educating peers, catheter-related issues such as catheter care, exit site, and tunnel infection, catheter removal, reimplantation techniques, nurses' role, nutrition aspects, surgical methods and pediatric peritoneal dialysis, peritonitis with its uniqueness in detail. Each chapter starts with a case scenario and pictures related to the branch by the contributors' experience.This book is helpful for physicians, nurses, technicians, microbiologists, ID trainees and consultants, nephrology trainees, nephrologists, and surgeons involved in PD care.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to peritoneal dialysis (PD). Home dialysis, and more specifically PD, is growing in popularity in the US. By conservative estimates, experts suggest that 45 percent of dialysis patients in the US can be on home dialysis. However, the current penetration rate is only 10 percent. This is changing with an expected major increase in the next 5 years. One of the reasons for the low uptake is that many nephrologists lack comfort and confidence in using PD as a dialysis modality. This book addresses those concerns by covering all aspects of PD. Chapters include its history, patient selection, implementation options, comorbidities, quality of life concerns, and developing approaches to treatment. This comprehensive resource fills the unmet need for a practical, hands-on book that is both detailed and can work as a quick reference. This is an ideal guide for academic nephrologists, private practice nephrologists, NPs, PAs, nurses, fellows, and residents.

Designed for daily use by professionals responsible for caring for patients with renal disease, this long-awaited primer provides a simplified, up-to-date review of peritoneal dialysis. Dealing concisely with all aspects of PD, it is written in such a style that even beginners with elementary knowledge of the subject could benefit from its use, and thus it is the perfect text for trainees or new and junior staff members. It is also an ideal text for nurses, a virtual how-to guide on PD. A book like this one, crafted specifically as a bench text and a learning tool, is hard to find. Emphasis is placed on the plentiful illustrations and tables that immediately clarify and expand upon the text. The illustrations, many in full color, are deftly drawn by one of the foremost medical artists in the world, Bernard Tardieu. Few texts can boast such a cast of distinguished authors. Ramesh Khanna, Karl Nolph, and Dimitrios Oreopoulos are among the most respected practitioners of dialysis.

When the external Quinton-Scribner arteriovenous shunt was developed in 1960, and, a little later, the internal Brescia-Cimino arteriovenous fistula was developed as a vascular access for hemodialysis, thereby making possible regular dialysis therapy of chronic uremic patients, many nephrologists became surgeons, having learned the type of vascular surgery related to hemodialysis quite well. The same series of events occurred with regards to peritoneal dialysis with the introduction of the Tenckhoff catheter and the need for gaining a permanent access to the peritoneum for chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) therapy. With time, however, problems relating to vascular and peritoneal access have forced many nephrologists to give up their surgery; meanwhile, many surgeons have become quite expert in some sophisticated techniques relating to dial ysis (e. g., vessel grafting, prosthesis implantation, etc.). Today, whether or not involved in this type of surgery, both nephrologists and surgeons remain interested in knowing all available access devices for dialysis as well as the surgical techniques involved. However, all nephrologists involved in dialysis must know how to prevent or treat complications related to dialysis access. Thus, it appeared to me to be quite advisable to have a book in my series, Topics in Renal Medicine, dealing with vascular and peritoneal access for dialysis.