Could You Have Kidney Disease … and Not Even Know It?
A. Osama Gaber, M.D., Transplant Surgeon & Director of Methodist Transplant Center
Could you be one of the 10 to 20 million people with kidney disease? Unfortunately, many with the disease do not know it until it is too late. As the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, kidney failure is on the rise and the number of sufferers has more than doubled over the last decade
"Kidney disease is a silent problem, like high blood pressure," says Osama Gaber, M.D., transplant surgeon on staff at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. Damage from kidney disease usually occurs gradually over many years, and in both kidneys. As the kidneys slowly stop doing their jobs, they work harder to compensate and kidney disease produces no symptoms until almost all function is gone. It's typically discovered right before the kidneys fail. When the kidneys fail, dialysis or a kidney transplant are the only options for keeping the person alive.
Healthy kidneys filter your blood using millions of tiny capillaries.
Healthy kidneys filter your blood using millions of tiny blood vessels, which have minute holes in them that act as filters. Waste products and extra water squeeze through the holes in the kidneys and are carried away as urine. Useful substances, such as protein and red blood cells, are too big to pass through the holes and stay in the blood. Kidneys also help control the levels of sodium, phosphorus and potassium in your blood.
Who's at Risk?
"Kidney disease affects people of all ages and races," Dr. Gaber says. People with diabetes, high blood pressure or a family member with kidney problems are at higher risk than the general population. Among people with diabetes, those who are black, Mexican-American or American Indian have a higher risk of kidney disease than other diabetic patients.
If you're at risk for kidney disease, you should have simple blood and urine tests. "If kidney disease is caught early, you can take steps to keep your kidneys working," Dr. Gaber says. "Often, that involves people with diabetes managing their blood glucose carefully, and people with high blood pressure keeping that well controlled."
If a person's kidneys appear to be progressively failing, he or she will be evaluated for kidney transplant or for eventual dialysis. The team at Methodist encourages patients to involve healthy family members and friends, so they can be considered as potential living donors. Many times, living donors can help their loved ones undergo preemptive transplants — or transplants before patients need dialysis — which can improve the survival of patients with kidney failure.
"Transplantation increases the chances of surviving kidney disease," says Dr. Gaber. "But a preemptive transplant offers the best chances for long-term survival."
If dialysis becomes inevitable, patients can dialyze through a machine that filters blood (hemodialysis), usually at a dialysis center, or through a catheter placed in the abdomen through which fluid is instilled and drained to help filter toxins (peritoneal dialysis).
"The idea is to prevent kidney disease and treat it early, so checking yourself is of utmost importance," says Dr. Gaber, who also heads the Texas Kidney Disease Task Force.
Testing Is Critical
If you have diabetes, high blood pressure or a family history of kidney disease, ask your doctor about screening tests. For a physician referral, please call 281-274-7500.
Transplant center Opens to Serve Kidney Patients
The Methodist Transplant Center opened a new clinic on the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus in mid-July to serve kidney transplant patients from Fort Bend and surrounding areas for kidney transplant evaluation.
"It's typical for a kidney transplant patient to have three days of evaluations in preparation for the actual transplantation," says Osama Gaber, M.D., kidney transplant surgeon on staff at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. "For many of these patients, making it to the Texas Medical Center each day is a daunting challenge, with parking and unfamiliar surroundings making it difficult. Now, patients from Fort Bend and other nearby communities can come to the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus for at least two of these pre-evaluation days, and receive the same level of compassionate care offered at The Methodist Hospital. Plus, during the evaluation, patients can be closer to their primary care physician and nephrologist, and that's important for many patients, too."
For more information on the Transplant Center on the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus, call 713-441-5451.
"It's typical for a kidney transplant patient to have three days of evaluations in preparation for the actual transplantation," says Osama Gaber, M.D., kidney transplant surgeon on staff at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. "For many of these patients, making it to the Texas Medical Center each day is a daunting challenge, with parking and unfamiliar surroundings making it difficult. Now, patients from Fort Bend and other nearby communities can come to the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus for at least two of these pre-evaluation days, and receive the same level of compassionate care offered at The Methodist Hospital. Plus, during the evaluation, patients can be closer to their primary care physician and nephrologist, and that's important for many patients, too."
For more information on the Transplant Center on the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital campus, call 713-441-5451.
