Q: My father has been diagnosed with chronic renal failure after his fourth hernia operation at the age of 74. His kidneys are moderately shrunken. He has been on dialysis since two and half months. His urine volume is 2000 ml, creatinine 5.3, urea 166 and haemoglobin 9.6. How long can he survive on dialysis? Is there any chance of stopping dialysis?

A:Chronic kidney failure is a progressive and irreversible disease. Your father seems to have CRF and has been on dialysis for 2 ½ months. It is unlikely that he will be able to discontinue dialysis without impact on his survival. A person can live well on dialysis for many long years if one gets good and adequate dialysis.