and commonly affects infants, children and adolescents. Living with kidney disease can be overwhelming for both child and family. The Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System provides state-of-the-art medical care, which includes advanced diagnostic assessment and testing, and sensitive support for the family and affected child.
The Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System works closely with Saint Barnabas’ pediatric urologists when invasive procedures or surgical intervention are required.
The Division of Pediatric Nephrology and Transplantation of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System is a joint venture of Saint Barnabas Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Kidneys clean waste materials from the blood, maintain a balance of salt and water in the body, and help regulate blood pressure and red blood cell counts. Kidney disease is the most common cause of high blood pressure in children.
Kidneys may fail due to congenital or hereditary abnormalities, infections, inflammations, drugs and poisons, systemic diseases and hypertension. Sometimes, however, the cause of kidney disease is unknown.
When kidneys fail, the patient may become swollen because the kidneys cannot eliminate excess salt and water. There may be disturbances of other chemicals in the blood which lead to poor appetite, weakness and more serious conditions.
Our pediatric nephrologists Isabel Roberti, M.D., Ph.D, and Shefali Vyas, M.D., are board-certified pediatricians with advanced training and expertise in diseases of the kidney affecting infants, children and adolescents. They are also experts in the care of hypertension in children which is often related to kidney problems. The physicians are supported by a professional staff specializing in children. Other team members include a nurse specialist, pediatric renal social worker, pediatric nutritionist and child life specialist.
Treatments are available that can often cure kidney disease and prevent failures. These treatments include diet, blood pressure control, medications for the specific kidney disease and possibly, surgery.
There have been tremendous advances in our ability to support kidney failure patients with various forms of dialysis and replacement of the failed kidneys with a kidney transplant. Due to recent advances in the understanding of the immune system and the development of better drugs, the success rate for kidney transplantation is very high. The Renal and Pancreas Transplant Division of The Saint Barnabas Health Care System is one of the nation’s premier kidney transplant programs.
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