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- +49 6221 56 7807
- pankreas@med.uni-heidelberg.de
- EPZ - Europäisches Pankreaszentrum Chirurgische Universitätsklinik, INF 420 69120 Heidelberg
The dialysis department
A vital facility
For many patients with kidney disease, dialysis as an artificial replacement for the diseased or failed organ is a vital facility. The dialysis department at our hospital is equipped with 18 haemodialysis places, including places for hepatitis B patients. Both chronic, outpatient (day-case) and inpatients in our nephrology ward receive round-the-clock care.
We focus on cooperation with the other Heidelberg clinics, to which we are available 24 hours a day. Our staff are constantly on duty in the intensive care units of the Heidelberg University Medical Center.
State-of-the-art equipment is used in all areas. An experienced and well-trained nursing team is available to our patients during treatment.
Chronic dialysis
The renal center currently offers 18 places for chronic dialysis patients, who are treated three times a week for around five hours in the morning or afternoon. We are currently treating over 80 patients with kidney failure requiring dialysis on a permanent outpatient basis, including patients with chronic hepatitis B and C.
Once patients with terminal renal failure have opted for the hemodialysis procedure, the vascular access (fistula) must first be surgically created in order to carry out the treatment. This requires a short inpatient stay for wound care and to instruct patients on how to handle their dialysis fistula.
The operation itself is performed on an outpatient basis by our cooperation partners at Heidelberg University Hospital, Vascular Surgery, Prof. Böckler or at St. Josef's Hospital in Heidelberg. The fistula should be created in good time before the planned first dialysis so that the wound can heal, the vessel can grow out and the first dialysis can then take place without complications.
In addition to carrying out the dialysis treatment itself, we pay particular attention to avoiding uraemia-specific late damage. During each dialysis treatment, a specialist visit is made to clarify all current medical problems. The function of the parathyroid gland and the electrolyte and phosphate balance are regularly monitored; cardiological and gastroenterological examinations and other imaging examinations are carried out at intervals.
Our services also include constant support from a social worker, a dietician and a clinical psychologist. The aim of our efforts is to provide patients with optimal rehabilitation in their everyday lives and, if possible, in their professional lives.
In principle, every patient who comes to our center for haemodialysis for the first time is evaluated for the possibility of inclusion on the transplant waiting list. The necessary examinations are organized and managed by us.
Acute kidney failure
In addition to chronic dialysis, the Heidelberg Kidney Center also has an acute dialysis unit. This provides hemodialysis to more than 10 intensive care units in Heidelberg from various hospitals and intensive care units at Heidelberg University Hospital. The equipment available here is similar to that used for chronic dialysis. In most cases, however, dialysis is carried out using the so-called Genius dialysis machine. This is a tank kidney, which enables a flexible dialysate composition according to the clinical picture and the patient's needs. This procedure is characterized by high haemodynamic stability.
The Heidelberg Kidney Center performs approx. 5,000 acute dialyses per year. This is based on a wide variety of clinical pictures, e.g. overhydration of the lungs (pulmonary oedema), acute poisoning, electrolyte disorders with cardiac arrhythmia, acute kidney failure in the case of autoimmune disease or kidney disease, kidney transplant failure and severe sepsis (severe infection) and others.
Dialysis treatment is extremely important for the treatment of patients in intensive care units with acute kidney failure, as the risk of death is 70% with the onset of sepsis and acute kidney failure, for example. For this reason, dialysis treatment should be as gentle as possible, i.e. not short-term dialysis but long-term dialysis with lower blood flow rates.
In contrast to chronic hemodialysis, dialysis is not usually carried out via a dialysis fistula but via a dialysis catheter placed in an emergency situation, e.g. in the neck vein area. This catheter is advanced via the jugular vein to the superior vena cava of the heart. This enables effective blood detoxification through dialysis. The complications of this vascular access are puncture of the neighboring carotid artery or infection and thrombosis. The dialysis catheter is inserted by specially trained and experienced dialysis staff and is carried out regularly.
The acute dialysis unit at the renal center has extensive experience in dealing with various invasive blood purification procedures for kidney failure and poisoning, including various plasma treatment procedures.
Time for life
A film contribution by the DGfN - German Society for Nephrology - in cooperation with TakePart Media and Science.
Head of dialysis unit
Certified health and nursing professional for nephrology
Deputy Head of Dialysis Unit
Registered nurse for nephrology
QM representative for dialysis
Margarete Spreemann
Registered nurse for nephrology