STAFFING
Dr. Mohammed Salam Mohammed Al Riyami, MD, MRCP, Sr. Consultant and Unit Head
Dr. Naifain Al Kalbani, MD, FRCP(P), Sr. Specialist
Dr. Badriyah Al Gaithi, Senior Specialist (on study leave)
Dr. Anisa Yahya Al Maskari, MD, Jr. Specialist
ACTIVITIES
The Pediatric Nephrology unit at the Royal Hospital caters to the full range of services required for children with kidney disease. The unit provides tertiary-level care in the diagnosis and management of children with acute and chronic renal problems, including congenital and developmental kidney abnormalities, fluid and electrolyte abnormalities, urinary tract infections, hypertension, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome and renal tubular dysfunction. The common conditions managed include:
- Acute and chronic renal failure
- Congenital kidney problems
- Glomerulonephritis
- Hemolytic uremic syndrome
- Renal tubular disorders
- Hypertension
- Polycystic kidney disease
The Dialysis unit for adults and children provides dialysis care to children from birth to 13 years, including support for newborn infants with congenital kidney problems which have resulted in kidney failure. Different modalities, including hemodialysis, hemofiltration plasmapheresis, and all common varieties of peritoneal dialysis, are offered and tailored for the individual patient and his or her family.
Children with kidney failure that require hemodialysis support are cared for by a highly skilled dialysis team, which consists of specially trained doctors, hemodialysis nurses and technical staff. Standard treatments consist of three to four acute dialysis sessions per week for up to four hours per visit. Children who are on maintenance dialysis are back-referred to the regional dialysis units but are reviewed periodically.
Specific kidney diseases, or disease recurrence after kidney transplantation, are treated with plasmapheresis, which is another therapy provided by the Renal Dialysis Unit staff on an as-needed basis.
Peritoneal dialysis is a form of dialysis complementary to hemodialysis. It requires daily treatments, such as cycling peritoneal dialysis, in which the patient receives treatments overnight while sleeping. It offers the advantage of allowing children to receive treatments at home, and it is often the first choice for children requiring dialysis. Children and their families require a formal training by a dedicated pediatric dialysis nurse to enable this type of self-care.
The optimal treatment for a child with kidney failure is a kidney transplant, with dialysis providing a bridge until a kidney becomes available. In the case of a child requiring a kidney transplant, every effort is made to identify a living related donor. Children requiring transplant are worked up by transplant team, which includes pediatric nephrologists, pediatric surgeon and transplant surgical team. The donor is worked up in the donor clinic. Kidney transplant surgery for small children is also done routinely at the Royal Hospital.