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Highlands Today

Dialysis Information

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: July 13, 2008

There are three outpatient dialysis units operating in Highlands County:

Fresenius Medical Care, d/b/a Renal Care of Sebring located behind Highlands Regional Medical Center.

Fresenius Medical Care, d/b/a Bio-Medical Applications (BMA) of Avon Park, on Sun 'n Lake Boulevard.

Highlands Dialysis Center, an affiliate of American Renal Associates, on Sun 'n Lake Boulevard.

In patient dialysis care is available at Florida Hospital Heartland, Florida Hospital Lake Placid and Highlands Regional Medical Center.

There are four nephrologists working in Highlands County:

Dr. Fernando M. Abanilla

Dr. Dusan Dragovic
Dr. Fabio Oliveros

Dr. Ernesto Pinzon
Dialysis treatments can run from 2.5 hours to 4.5 hours depending on patient's weight, adequacy of dialysis site and compliance with diet, medications and treatment plan.

60 percent of patients are diabetics.

75 percent of patients are over the age of 65.

There are five stages of kidney failure. Nephrologists concentrate on stage three for patients with 60 percent to 30 percent of kidney function, stage four for patients with 30 percent to 15 percent kidney function and stage five when patients have less than 15 percent of kidney function.

In stages three and four all efforts should be made to bring blood pressure, blood sugars, cholesterol and anemia under control and back to normal levels.

Everyone should ask their primary care doctor what is their percentage of kidney function?

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