Kidney Services and Treatments

Patients with kidney disease have a higher-than-normal risk for developing diabetes. We work closely with doctors who treat diabetes, and we treat the disease’s effects on the kidneys. We’ll also help you keep your diabetes under control.

Learn more about our diabetes care.

There are two types of kidney dialysis: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. If you need dialysis, your doctor will recommend which option is better for your situation.

Learn more about what to expect from kidney dialysis.

We use interventional radiology procedures to diagnose kidney conditions and treat them. These techniques allow our doctors to see the kidneys and surrounding areas inside the body.

Some examples of interventional radiology procedures we use to treat kidney conditions include:

• Balloon angioplasty, which uses a balloon to clear blockages in a blood vessel
• Placement of a nephrostomy tube, which drains urine in cases of kidney stones and other kidney blockages
• Placement of a catheter for kidney dialysis
• Removal of blood clots in dialysis fistula (an artificial vein used to remove and return blood during kidney dialysis)

Learn more about our imaging and radiology procedures.

Lithotripsy is a procedure we use to break up kidney stones that are too large to pass through the urinary tract on their own. During lithotripsy, we send ultrasound waves into the body to break these stones so they can pass through the urinary system. Lithotripsy can allow some patients with kidney stones to avoid surgery.

A nephrectomy involves removing all or part of a diseased kidney. We offer three types of this procedure:

• Partial nephrectomy – removing only the diseased tissue from a kidney
• Simple nephrectomy – removing just the kidney
• Radical nephrectomy – removing the entire kidney, as well as several other structures around the kidney

We may need to perform a nephrectomy to treat kidney cancer, kidney failure and other kidney diseases or injuries.

In a normally functioning kidney, urine drains from the kidney through a tube called the ureter. A blockage between the kidney and the ureter is a condition called ureteropelvic junction obstruction. We can treat this condition with a pyeloplasty. During a pyeloplasty, we remove tissue from the blocked area and reconnect the healthy part of the kidney to the healthy part of the ureter.

Depending on your particular situation, we may be able to perform this surgery through a laparoscopic minimally invasive approach, which involves less pain and faster recovery than a traditional open approach.