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    1. About Kidney Disease
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
      3. Kidney Disease Stages
      4. What Is a Nephrologist?
      5. What to Expect with CKD
      6. Kidney Disease Management
      7. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
      8. How Kidneys Work
      9. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
    2. Treatments
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Dialysis Basics
      3. Benefits of Home Dialysis
      4. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      5. Home Hemodialysis
      6. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
      7. In-Center Hemodialysis
      8. Transplant
      9. Insurance & Managing Costs
      10. Choosing Not to Treat
    3. Life On Dialysis
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
      3. Staying Engaged
      4. Staying Healthy
      5. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
      6. Tips for Loved Ones
      7. PatientHub
    4. Recipes & Nutrition
      1. OVERVIEW
      2. Recipes
      3. Managing Your Diet
      4. Fluid Management on Dialysis
      5. Dialysis Diet Planning
      6. Cookbooks
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    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center

    Find a Dialysis Center
    Permission to detect location was denied Current location could not be determined
      Try a detailed search

      Need help? Call 1-888-373-1470

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      1. About Kidney Disease
        1. Understanding Chronic Kidney Disease
          1. Symptoms
          2. Risk Factors
          3. Causes
          4. Diagnosis and Testing
          5. GFR Calculator
        2. Kidney Disease Stages
          1. Stage 1
          2. Stage 2
          3. Stage 3
          4. Stage 4
          5. Stage 5
        3. What Is a Nephrologist?
        4. What to Expect with CKD
        5. Kidney Disease Management
          1. Kidney Diet Basics
          2. CKD Medications
          3. Your Kidney Care Team
          4. Diabetes
          5. High Blood Pressure
        6. Understanding Acute Kidney Injury
          1. Acute Kidney Injury Treatment and Recovery
        7. How Kidneys Work
        8. Take a FREE CLASS on Kidney Disease
      2. Treatments
        1. Dialysis Basics
          1. How Does a Hemodialysis Machine Work
          2. Starting Dialysis
          3. Types of Dialysis Access
          4. Your Care Plan
          5. Dialysis Medications
          6. Monitoring Your Lab Results
        2. Benefits of Home Dialysis
        3. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. PD Access
          4. PD Training
          5. PD Monitoring
          6. Your Care Team
        4. Home Hemodialysis
          1. What to Expect
          2. Getting Prepared
          3. HD Training
          4. HD Monitoring
          5. Your Care Team
        5. Sign up to Talk to a Home Dialysis Expert
        6. In-Center Hemodialysis
          1. In-Center Treatment Options
          2. What to Expect
          3. Types of Vascular Access for Hemodialysis
          4. Your Care Team
          5. How to Choose a Center
        7. Transplant
          1. Finding a Kidney Donor
          2. Considering Kidney Donation
        8. Insurance & Managing Costs
          1. Understanding Medicare Coverage
          2. Understanding Medicare Advantage
          3. Understanding Employer Plans
        9. Choosing Not to Treat
      3. Life On Dialysis
        1. Your Emotional Health While on Dialysis
          1. Managing Your Emotions
          2. Talking About Dialysis
          3. Intimacy
          4. Body Image and Dialysis
          5. Building Your Dialysis Support Network
        2. Staying Engaged
          1. Tips for Working While on Dialysis
          2. In-Center Activities
          3. Hobbies
        3. Staying Healthy
          1. Managing Your Time on Dialysis
          2. Dialysis & Exercise
          3. Weight Management
          4. Avoiding Infection
          5. Managing Multiple Conditions
          6. Fighting the Flu
        4. Dialysis Travel Services and Information
        5. Tips for Loved Ones
          1. In-Center Hemodialysis
          2. At-Home Hemodialysis
          3. At-Home Peritoneal Dialysis
        6. PatientHub
      4. Recipes & Nutrition
        1. Recipes
        2. Managing Your Diet
          1. Eating Well on a CKD Diet
          2. Eating Well on a Dialysis Diet
          3. Salt and Kidney Disease
          4. Potassium and Kidney Disease
          5. Phosphorus and Kidney Disease
          6. Talking With Your Dietitian
        3. Fluid Management on Dialysis
        4. Dialysis Diet Planning
          1. Kidney-Friendly Shopping
          2. Eating Out
          3. Holiday Diet Tips
          4. A Chef’s Advice | Chef Aaron McCargo on Kidney Friendly Meals
        5. Cookbooks
      5. Thrive Central
        1. CKD
        2. Dialysis
        3. Diet & Nutrition
        4. Stories
        5. Wellness
        6. See All
      Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      OVERVIEW What to Expect Getting Prepared PD Access PD Training PD Monitoring Your Care Team
      1. Home
      2. Treatments
      3. Home Peritoneal Dialysis
      4. PD Access

      Getting a Peritoneal Dialysis Catheter

      Share:
      A peritoneal dialysis catheter is the only type of access for peritoneal dialysis (PD). A PD catheter is a flexible, hollow tube about the size of a straw that's surgically placed in your lower abdomen. A small piece of tubing is left outside of the body that can be covered when not in use.
      Illustrtion of a peritoneal dialysis catheter. The catheter is placed in the peritoneal cavity, in the lower abdomen. Parts of the catheter outside of the body include a protective cap and a clamp, which is part of the transfer set.
      Checking for the best dialysis access type.

      Planning for your PD catheter is key

      Here's what to know when preparing for your access:

      • You'll need minor surgery for PD catheter placement.
      • A PD catheter is usually placed by a surgeon in sterile conditions to minimize infection. The procedure is often done under local anesthesia.
      • Healing time ranges from a few days to 2 weeks, depending on the urgency to start treatment.
      • Once the catheter area has healed, a nurse will teach you how to use your catheter and care for it properly.

      tips for avoiding a dialysis access infection

      How to care for your access site

      Your access is your lifeline, so keep your peritoneal dialysis catheter clean and well maintained to avoid infections. Here are 3 ways to keep your access site healthy.

      1. Practice good hygiene—keep your hands and exit site clean and dry. Perform daily access site care according to the instructions provided by your care team.
      2. Protect your catheter—keep your catheter close to your body and avoid clothing that's too tight or that may snag. When not in use, your catheter should be capped and your transfer set should be clamped.
      3. Inspect your access site daily—look for any signs of redness, drainage, tenderness or swelling that could indicate infection. If you notice any changes to your access site around your catheter, contact your nurse right away. It's important to receive immediate treatment if you have an infection.

      Buried PD catheter option

      If you know you're going to do PD—but you're at least 6 weeks from starting—your doctor may suggest getting a "buried" catheter. With this procedure, the PD catheter is surgically placed, but the catheter end is left under the skin until you're ready to start treatment. The advantage is that there's no downtime when you're ready to begin PD treatment—the doctor exposes the catheter end and you're ready to go. A peritoneal catheter may also be an option even if you need to start treatment in an urgent situation.

      Talk to your doctor about planning for your PD catheter.
      a woman planting flowers

      REQUEST A HOME PERITONEAL DIALYSIS CONVERSATION

      Peritoneal dialysis (PD) can easily be done at home. Home PD can mean fewer food restrictions and less medication.
      Speak To An Expert

      AT-HOME DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN

      You'll have 24/7 access to on-call home PD nurses by phone. That means you get the benefits of home and the comfort of knowing help is there if you need it.
      Make clean rountine. Prevent peritonitis.
      Keep your catheter clean and use proper techniques for handwashing or sterilizing to prevent peritonitis.
      Learn more
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