Which Veterinary Patients Need Dialysis?

Dialysis has been performed on animals and pets for decades, says JD Foster, VMD, DACVIM (SAIM), internist and director of extracorporeal therapies at the Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, D.C., and it's has increased in popularity over the years.

Pets tend to be put on dialysis to treat kidney disease—usually acute kidney injury, but occasionally chronic kidney disease. He says dialysis is a way to allow these animals to have a better quality of life as we wait for their kidneys to heal and regenerate. Dialysis is really the only therapy that removes the toxins that accumulate in renal failure, Dr. Foster says.