High Flux Dialysis in Bangalore

About the author

Dr.Prashant C Dheerendra is the founder and Medical Director of Dharma Kidney Care. He qualified in kidney care (“Nephrology”) from the prestigious Postgraduate Institute, Chandigarh and is also one of the few fellows of the International Society of Nephrology from india.

Dialysis in Bangalore : Introducing high flux dialysis and its benefits

Type of Dialysis

While dialysis in Bangalore has been performed for almost 35 years now, it is in the last 10 years that the number of patients and also dialysis centers has increased exponentially. I came to Bangalore in 2012 and have witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of patients undergoing dialysis.

There are two types of dialysis that a patient can opt for: hemodialysis(“blood dialysis”) and peritoneal dialysis(“water dialysis”).

During hemodialysis, an artificial kidney (“hemodialyzer”) is used to remove wastes and excess fluid from your blood while in peritoneal dialysis blood is cleaned inside the body with the help of a specially formulated sterile fluid.

In Bangalore, most people choose hemodialysis because peritoneal dialysis needs to be performed at home. The responsibility falls on the patients/caregivers and they may not be able to do it because of lack of social support.

High Flux Dialysis (HFD) : what is it?

High flux dialysis refers to a form of hemodialysis that was developed in recent years to improve the efficiency of dialysis. It has succeeded in both improving the quality of dialysis and hence the quality of life in dialysis patients.

The essential element of high flux dialysis is the use of dialyzers (artificial kidneys) that have larger pores for the removal of waste products(“uremic toxins”) and of excess fluid. Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) is measured and followed as a reflection of all the toxins that the kidney normally removes.

With HFD, BUN clearly is removed more efficiently. Besides, evidence shows that larger toxic molecules (which contribute to patient ill health), also get removed with HFD. Such molecules are too big to be removed by usual dialysis.

For instance, a molecule called beta 2 microglobulin, which can have a role in causing arthritis in dialysis patients, is removed by HFD. In fact, there are already reports of patients with less joint pain when switched from conventional to HFD.

Results of high flux dialysis at Dharma Kidney Care

I went to the Catholic Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea as a scholar of the International Society of Nephrology in 2013-2014. I observed that patients on dialysis there were living a near normal life. The reason I figured out was the scrupulous attention to detail that was given to the whole process of dialysis. I also observed that almost everybody was on high flux dialysis.

After returning to India I wanted to start a dialysis center which offered the best quality of dialysis for our patients also.

Dharma Kidney Care was one of the first dialysis centers in Bangalore to offer high flux dialysis a few years ago. It has been a gratifying journey so far for us as we have seen patients do very well on HFD.

Many patients in their 60’s and 70’s have been provided a good quality of life with HFD. They eat well, sleep well and have more energy. Some patients have returned to their jobs while on high flux dialysis and doing quite well.

We teamed up with Apollo Dialysis Clinics recently to bring high quality dialysis to South Bangalore.

Other Advantages:

High flux dialysis results in better hemoglobin levels and better control of phosphorus levels in the blood of dialysis patients. Loss of appetite and itching which are big problems in dialysis patients is also less common in patients on HFD.

Why we have not seen high flux dialysis in Bangalore/India so far

During each dialysis session, about 100 litres of purified water is used. The water is purified using a Reverse Osmosis(“RO”) plant. Historically dialysis providers in India have been obsessed with lowering the costs and hence the quality of treatment is a secondary consideration.

We at Dharma Kidney Care and Apollo Dialysis Clinics believe that quality comes above all else, though the cost is also an important consideration. Hence, we have installed the state of the art Fresenius Aqua B Plus reverse osmosis plant fully imported from Germany so that quality is not compromised at any stage.

On the other hand, we have kept the cost of High Flux Dialysis lower compared to even conventional dialysis in corporate hospitals. This is in order to provide the benefit of the latest technology to as many patients as possible.

Our practice is in keeping with the recommendations of the European Renal Best Practice guidelines which suggest high flux dialysis for almost everybody who needs dialysis.

high flux dialysis RO plant
WIDE IMAGE OF OUR REVERSE OSMOSIS (“RO”) PLANT — FRESENIUS AQUA B PLUS

About Dharma Kidney Care and Apollo Dialysis Clinics

Dharma Kidney Care is one of the best centers for dialysis in Bangalore  for kidney failure treatment. Dharma Kidney Care is exclusively designed for kidney care. We are a team of ethical, professional medical experts working with great determination and responsibilities for better diagnosis and treatment of kidney disorders. Sooner the kidney disease is detected, the faster and better the chance of slowing or stopping its progression. But if detected late and patient needs dialysis, Dharma Kidney Care has the latest equipment and highly qualified professionals to provide world-class dialysis therapy at a reasonable cost.

Recently we have partnered with Apollo Dialysis Clinics to further improve the quality and efficiency at our center. Apollo Dialysis runs more than 50 centers nationwide with more than 5,000 patients served every month.

Our partners

We look forward to serve the people of South Bangalore looking to improve their quality of life on dialysis.

You can call our center manager Mr Kumar to ask any questions. We are always very happy to help. Please click on the orange phone number – 9880487219 – to call us.

All the best!

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