A sugary fluid is placed into the peritoneal during P-dialysis. The fluid extracts liquid and waste from the blood into the peritoneal. The dialysis fluid is led into the abdominal cavity through a thin plastic tube called a P-dialysis catheter. This catheter is operated into the stomach and is approximately 1⁄2 cm in diameter; about 30-50 cm is visible outside the stomach.
The fluids can be manually shifted in and out, for example, three or four times a day or by a machine at night when you sleep. A manual shift of fluids takes often about 30 minutes. In P-dialysis with a machine, the treatment takes 7-9 hours and 15 minutes for mounting and 15 minutes for dismounting of the machine.
It usually takes three to five days (of six hours) for you to be trained in P-dialysis treatment by specially trained nurses.
Equipment for the treatment will be delivered to your home. You must store equipment for either 7 or 14 days of treatment at a time. This corresponds to the size of a two wing wardrobe and the dialysis machine itself.
Every 6th to 8th week you meet for a follow-up at the hospital. It is possible to contact the hospital around the clock if problems arise related to your treatment.
The most frequent complication of P- dialysis is infection at the catheter exit site or in the peritoneal; infections are treated with antibiotics.