Dialysis

Mount Sinai provides convenient dialysis therapy for patients with kidney (renal) failure, also called end-stage renal disease. A dedicated team of leading dialysis experts provides comprehensive and compassionate dialysis care. Nephrologists, registered nurses, patient care technicians certified in dialysis, social workers, and dietitians make up your dialysis team.

In addition to the languages spoken by our staff—Spanish, Russian, and French—we provide a translation service. We seek to create the most relaxed and comfortable environment possible through amenities such as televisions at every station and free Wi-Fi.

Through our dialysis services, you have access to the full range of the Mount Sinai Health System’s state-of-the-art treatments, including vascular surgery, urology, interventional radiology, diabetes and high blood pressure (hypertension) management programs, and transplant surgery based on your needs.

For your convenience, Mount Sinai's dialysis service includes locations for inpatient and outpatient therapy. In some cases, we are able to offer dialysis in your home, an option that you can ask your dialysis team about. We also offer dialysis services for travelers visiting New York City.

Wherever we provide dialysis to you and whatever type of dialysis you need, our goal is to help you maintain a good quality of life. 

Why Dialysis

The purpose of dialysis is to clean your blood when your kidneys are unable to do their job due to end-stage renal disease or kidney failure.

When your kidneys fail to function properly, waste products that are normally cleared by the kidneys build up in your bloodstream. As the levels of these toxins rise, you may begin to feel sluggish and nauseated. If left untreated, kidney failure can result in seizures, coma, and premature death. Dialysis removes these waste products when kidneys can no longer do so.

Mount Sinai dialysis providers collaborate with our kidney transplant program should transplantation become necessary.

We can treat you when you have both end-stage renal disease being treated with dialysis and heart failure being treated with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD), an implanted mechanical pump that supports your weakened heart. Your nephrologist helps you by working closely with your cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons. Together we have extensive experience in managing end-stage kidney failure with dialysis in patients who have LVADs. 

Treatments We Offer

Our nephrology experts have extensive experience with all types of dialysis. We offer peritoneal dialysis at home and other convenient locations, and hemodialysis onsite. We also treat people under 18 years of age and visitors from out of town and around the world.

Mount Sinai’s peritoneal dialysis program is the largest in New York City and one of the largest in the country.

Our team works with you to ensure that you have as much choice as possible in the type of dialysis that you receive. 

Hemodialysis
Hemodialysis circulates your blood through a fine needle (catheter) in your arm or leg to a highly specialized dialysis machine that filters out waste products and excess water. The process takes between three and four hours to clean the blood and return the healthy blood to your body. Typically, you will be scheduled for hemodialysis therapy three days a week on an outpatient basis.

Our dialysis center and dialysis unit are equipped with the newest state-of-the-art technology. The center is a spacious, calm, and comfortable environment for outpatient hemodialysis treatment.

We have a 12-station hemodialysis unit with 12 portable machines. Our dialysis staff can provide inpatient and at-home hemodialysis for adults.

We also care for patients under 18 years of age, and we offer bedside dialysis as needed. 

Peritoneal dialysis
Peritoneal dialysis filters blood by flowing a cleansing solution into your abdominal cavity through a surgically inserted catheter to remove waste and excess fluid. With this type of dialysis, your body’s peritoneal tissue does the filtering. The process takes a few hours. You will likely be scheduled for peritoneal dialysis therapy several times a day or overnight while you sleep at home on a flexible schedule that works for you.

For medical or other logistical reasons, peritoneal dialysis may not be an option for you. To help ensure that you have peritoneal dialysis as an option, Mount Sinai works with skilled nursing facilities to offer you the option of at-home peritoneal dialysis and assistance at a location convenient for you.

At-home dialysis
The Mount Sinai home dialysis program offers peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis at home to allow you to receive dialysis therapy in this comfortable setting. By combining the state-of-the-art technology, convenient scheduling, and a compassionate and highly skilled staff, our home dialysis program strives to provide you the highest quality of dialysis care.

Our team consists of highly skilled doctors, nurses, technicians, dietitians, and social workers who are specialized in home therapy. We train you and your family in peritoneal and home hemodialysis. Our staff manages the logistical coordination such as timely delivery of supplies to your home. Our clinicians offer an excellent support program as you transition to home therapy.

With at-home dialysis, you can get help 24 hours a day to answer any questions or concerns you may have about your therapy. We also provide regular monitoring and medical evaluation during your monthly clinic visit to one of our on-site dialysis locations. We offer convenient technology including wireless streaming of data, which can be viewed on an iPad, for review by your support team to ensure that your treatments are going well.

Pediatric dialysis services
Our colleagues in Pediatric Kidney Disease provide dialysis to children and young adults under the age of 18 in an area separated from adults. Your child’s care team includes a pediatric dialysis director, dietitian, and social worker, as well as a child life specialist, who routinely meets with our young patients to coordinate games and direct creative projects during treatment. 

Traveling Made Possible

We open our doors to patients outside of the New York metropolitan region. 

Visitors welcome
Mount Sinai welcomes all traveling patients visiting New York City, including international visitors. Our multilingual staff and translators make arrangements for scheduling, getting your medical records, and receiving payment in advance to ensure that you get the most convenient and seamless appointment possible.

By combining the newest technology, convenient scheduling, and a compassionate staff, the Mount Sinai dialysis service for visitors (transient patients) strives to provide the highest quality of dialysis care. We offer hemodialysis services to traveling patients. A team of licensed, registered nurses, and on-site physicians provides our transient dialysis services.

Each of our dialysis locations strives to make your time with us as pleasant as possible by providing free Wi-Fi and TVs at each dialysis station.

Leaving New York City
If you are a Mount Sinai dialysis patient planning to travel out of town, we will help you make arrangements to receive dialysis therapy at your destination. Be sure to let us know when and where you are leaving town with enough advance notice so that we can help you. We will welcome you back on your return.