The essence of quality healthcare doesn’t only lie in curative treatment but also in the restoration of quality of life during and after treatment. Severe kidney failure, referred to as End Stage Renal Disease, or ESRD, and one of its treatment modalities, dialysis, are traditionally believed to have dire consequences. Many people shudder at the very thought of it.
However, with recent developments in the healthcare industry, therapy for ESRD in the form of dialysis promises quality of life.ESRD (where less than 10 per cent of the kidney functions as compared to normal) is a devastating illness for the vast majority of patients. The treatment options available are kidney transplantation wherever possible (the best option in most cases) and dialysis in others. There are two forms of dialysis: haemodialysis (cleansing one’s blood using artificial kidneys or filters) and peritoneal dialysis (done by infusing clean fluid into the abdomen by implanting permanent catheters in the abdomen and using the peritoneal membrane to clean the waste products).
There are close to 200,000 people developing ESRD every year in India and more than 95 per cent of them die for lack of treatment. Less than 5,000 transplants are done a year and the remaining cases go for dialysis. In general there is a feeling that life on dialysis is miserable and morbidity and mortality levels are high with a very low rate of long-term survival. Hence in India many people feel dialysis is a death knell. However, this has changed significantly over the last decade or so, thanks to high-quality water purification systems; better management of patients, especially their nutrition, anaemia and bone metabolism; and better-quality, high-flux biocompatible membranes, and so on. It is not uncommon now to have long productive life-spans on dialysis. Here is the amazing story of a dynamic dental surgeon who has led a full life in spite of ESRD for over a decade.
K.H. Sudheer developed ESRD in 2003, for which he underwent a kidney transplant, his father being the donor. However, the transplant failed in 2008 and he has been on dialysis since then, three to four times a week. Undeterred, Dr. Sudheer continues to lead an active life and has had a baby. He works 14 hours a day when not on dialysis, has opened a chain of dental clinics, participates and speaks at important academic conferences, is a wonderful husband and a doting father. He makes it a point to exercise regularly and is an avid swimmer.
This truly is an amazing story of how he has battled and conquered his illness while being on dialysis. He should be an inspiration and role model for all kidney patients. This highlights the fact that there is an immense possibility of a good life even on dialysis if we choose to have it. Kidney disease is a major problem in India. The endeavour should be to prevent it before it happens, control it by conservative measures in the early stage and not to despair in the late stages as there is a full life on dialysis or transplantation even at this stage. Dr. Ballal is Director of the Manipal Institute of Nephrology and Urology
