Hi
Anyone got any experience off or knowledge of Peritonial Dialysis and Hernia’s
My father is a 79 year old gentleman who is on Peritonial Dialysis.
He has been admitted to hospital earlier this week with suspected Hernia problem - i dont know at this stage what type of hernia he has but before he was admitted he had lot of pain and was vomiting and his naval/belly button was protruded (like you would see in photographs of children who are malnurished) so not sure if that can help identify the type of Hernia
The surgical team are considering surgery but have not made a decision yet and while they are assessing his case - he has been taken off peritonial dialysis and isnt been allowed solids and was only allowed to drink clear liquids yesterday
What are the surgical approaches available ?
If he has surgery for the Hernia - will he be back to go back onto peritonial dialysis at any time in the future or will he have to go onto haemo dialysis and never will be able to go back onto Peritonial Dialysis?
Thanks
Hi Passport1,
From your very good description, it sounds pretty likely that your dad has an umbilical (belly button) hernia. Hernias are not uncommon in older men in general, and certainly the added pressure inside the belly of the PD fluid makes them more common in PD. Surgical repair of a hernia is fairly minor as surgery goes (all surgery carries some risk), and sometimes the repairs last longer if a mesh is used to strengthen the wall of the abdomen. Your dad’s surgeon will have more detail that is specific to him.
Here’s a search of the posts in this forum on the topic of hernias–you might find some useful info here: http://forums.homedialysis.org/search.php?searchid=38275.
It is often possible to keep doing PD after a hernia repair. You may want to read about low-volume, recumbant-only (LVRO) PD, which can be done while someone recovers from surgery, instead of switching to hemo. Here’s our article about it:
• http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/tom/200505/
And, here’s an article about PD myths that you may also find helpful–especially for talking with your dad’s doctor:
• http://www.homedialysis.org/resources/tom/200705/
Hi there, I had an umbilical hernia, the surgeon repaired it AND put in the PD cath all at once. it wasn’t fun but I got past it. things are working ok, been on PD since 8/6/07
Patty
Thanks for the repllies
He has had hernia operation and plan is to put him back on PD dialysis when hernia has healed. At present he is managing without dialysis. His bloods are being checked each day and Sodium,Creatin and Potassium levels are within acceptable ranges and staying stable so medical renal team believe he can manage without dialysis at present but they are monitoring it very closely
Thanks
It sounds like they’re taking good care of your dad. Keep us posted. 
