PLACEMENT OF A PERITONEAL-DIALYSIS CATHETER WITH ROUTINE OMENTECTOMY - DOES IT PREVENT OBSTRUCTION OF THE CATHETER

Objective: To find out if routine omentectomy reduced the incidence of obstruction and other complications of catheters inserted for continu ous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Design: Retrospective study . Setting: Teaching hospital, Israel. Subjects: 60 patients with end s tage renal failure who needed catheters for CAPD. Intervention: Routin e omentectomy during insertion of the catheter, usually under local an aesthesia. Main outcome measures: Short and long term morbidity, and m ortality. Results: No patient died as a result of the procedure. The c atheter obstructed in only one patient (2%) during a mean follow-up pe riod of 28 months (range 2-108), and 90% of the catheters survived one year. Conclusions: Routine omentectomy during insertion of a catheter for CAPD under local anaesthesia is safe and the incidence of obstruc tion is low. Prospective randomised studies are needed before it can b e recommended as the procedure of choice.