Patient Relations
Endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP) and automated peritoneal dialysis are introduced at the JHAH Al-Hasa Health Center to further expand patient services at the facility.
Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH) is continuing to expand patient services at its Al-Hasa Health Center with the introduction of automated peritoneal dialysis and endoscopic retrograde cholangio pancreatography (ERCP).
JHAH Al-Hasa is the only private hospital in Al-Hasa to offer automated peritoneal dialysis and is one of only a few private hospitals in the area to offer ERCP. The introduction of the two services underscores JHAH’s commitment to expand treatment options for patients in Al-Hasa.
Clinicians at JHAH Al-Hasa recently undertook their first ERCP procedure on a patient who presented with obstructive jaundice caused by ascending cholangitis, or inflammation of the bile duct. The procedure was carried out within 24 hours of the patient presenting at JHAH Al-Hasa.
ERCP is a procedure used to diagnose and treat blockages and other problems in the biliary system, which makes, stores, and transports bile, a yellow-green digestive fluid that helps the body to break down fat. The biliary system is made up of the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, pancreatic ducts, bile ducts, and biliary tree.
During an ERCP procedure, an endoscope — a small camera attached to the end of a flexible tube — is passed from the patient’s mouth, through their stomach, into the upper section of their small intestine. This allows clinicians to detect potential problems, and to take samples of cells or tissue for laboratory testing.
ERCP procedures can also be used to fix problems in the biliary system. Clinicians can insert small tubes called stents into blocked bile ducts, so that bile can drain into the small intestine. They can also use stents to remove blockages in the small intestine, and to help remove stones in the pancreas.
Dr. Elsadig Mohamed Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology Consultant, JHAH Al-Hasa
Peritoneal dialysis helps patients who have suffered from kidney failure to filter waste materials out of their blood. A surgeon places a catheter in the patient’s abdomen three to four weeks before the first dialysis session. Dialysis solution is then passed from a bag through the catheter into the patient’s abdomen, where it absorbs waste materials and surplus fluid. After a few hours, the used dialysis solution is drained out of the abdomen, through the catheter into a drain bag.
With automated peritoneal dialysis, this procedure is carried out effortlessly by a machine during the night, while the patient is asleep. This means that the patient does not need to manually fill or empty dialysis fluid from their abdomen multiple times throughout the day.
Automated peritoneal dialysis also has several advantages over hemodialysis, the traditional procedure for cleaning the blood of patients who have suffered kidney failure.
With hemodialysis, clinicians first carry out a surgical procedure to make an arteriovenous fistula — an artificial blood vessel created by joining an artery with a vein — about two months before the first hemodialysis session. The patient’s arteriovenous fistula is then connected by needles and tubes to a hemodialysis machine, which draws blood out of the body, cleans it, and returns it to the body. Each hemodialysis session takes about four hours, and most patients need two or three sessions of hemodialysis per week, typically in a hospital.
Dr. Usman Afzal Internal Medicine and Nephrology Consultant, JHAH Al-Hasa
“We are proud to add the service to our ever-growing list of treatment options at JHAH Al-Hasa.”