Report: Bin Laden escaped dragnet

Washinton Times ^ | 3-5-04

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Don Joe]

Well good question because my brother had home dialysis for a few years and it was a huge effort. Not only does it require LOTS of supplies, sterile supplies, gallons of dialyzing solution etc., the machines are finicky and there can be trouble with the patients implanted dialysis ports too. Lab tests are required periodically to evaluate the patients condition. And dialysis patients are often fairly unable physically and have multiple disease processes such as diabetes or cardiac problems.

There's another type of home dialysis. I knew someone who was on it. He had crates and crates of bags of fluid, which he'd pour in via a fistula, and then leave it in for a while, maybe a half hour or an hour, I forget exactly how long, and then he'd drain it out. He did that a couple of times a day, as I recall. No machines involved, just those bags, and some disinfectant (and anticoagulant?) he'd apply to the fitting before sticking it into his gut. (Not actually into the gut, but into the abdominal cavity.)

Basically, as I understand it, it just washes your internal organs, and drains away the impurities via osmosis or somesuch. The main thing is that unlike "real" dialysis, it's not rigged up to the blood system. It just goes into the abdominal cavity, rinses, then drains. Very simple "science", and the "magic" is in the stuff they put in the liquid (that gets your organs to offload the impurities via their surface).

The only considerations (apart from having to lay around a couple times a day while "bagging") was the need to maintain absolute sterile conditions vis-a-vis the fistula. The guy would come down with peritonitis every so often and need to be raced to the hospital. I guess it's possible that OBL maintains cleaner conditions, but not too likely IMO. Maybe he's hauling large amounts of heavy duty IV antibiotics with him too.

Anyway, the point is, you can be "mobile" (not tethered to a machine, or need any electricity) and still be on dialysis.

[Don Joe]

No electricity needed, see above.

[prairiebreeze]

Ah yes, peritoneal dialysis. They tried it with my brother but he absolutely could not tolerate it.

Well I suppose that eliminates the machine but the sterile supplies and requirements remain. And the larger point IMO is that patients with dialysis needs are often in unstable, even brittle physical shape. It doesn't take much to set their electrolytes or blood chemistries off. Monmitioring of lab values is a necessity.

I just don't see it happening in a remote area. And not for extended periods of time without telltale signs and evidence of the support required for supplies etc. being made detectable.

Prairie

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

Fistula? Isn't that what John Kerry's state teaches middle-schoolers how to do?

Seriously, I rather doubt peritonial dialysis would be practical for the cave-hopping (at best) Osama. Hygiene is at a premium out there in the Afghan sticks, and his favorite goat just hates to be washed.

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt