The Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension
The Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension at Sheba Medical Center offers a full range of comprehensive services for diagnosing, treating and preventing kidney disease and hypertension (high blood pressure). Our multidisciplinary specialists include nephrologists, cardiovascular experts, endocrinologists, certified dialysis nurses, kidney transplant nurses, dietitians, and social workers. The team meets weekly to discuss and design effective, individualized treatment programs for each patient.
Our recently modernized institute was designed to optimize patient privacy and comfort. Accordingly, the outpatient clinics are distinct from the hemodialysis department, and patients who require chronic hemodialysis are treated separately from inpatients who need acute hemodialysis.
Our institute has particular expertise in renovascular hypertension, and we collaborate closely with the Division of Vascular Surgery and Invasive Angiography Services to provide advanced management techniques. To effectively treat kidney stone disease (renal calculi), we work in conjunction with Sheba’s Lithotripsy Center. We treat all types of kidney disease in our outpatient clinics, and we are actively involved in cutting-edge research to develop new medicines for hypertension.
Division of Internal Medicine at the Acute Care Hospital
The Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension is part of the Division of Internal Medicine at Sheba Medical Center. Also included in this division of the hospital:
- Departments of Internal Medicine (A – F)
- The Research Center for Autoimmune Diseases
- Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit
- The Bert Strassburger Lipid Center
- The Center of Geographic Medicine and Tropical Disease
- Cord Blood Bank
- Department of Dermatology
- Department of Emergency Medicine
- Institute of Endocrinology
- Department of Neurology
- Ella Institute for Treatment and Research of Melanoma and Skin Cancer
- Institute of Gastroenterology
- Institute of Oncology
- Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension
- Interventional Pulmonology Unit
- National Hemophilia Center and Institute of Thrombosis & Hemostasis
- The Center for Liver Diseases
What conditions do we treat?
We treat all types of kidney disease and provide consultative medical services for patients with hypertension, including the following renal and vascular conditions:
- Blood in the urine
- Urinary protein excretion
- Chronic kidney disease and failure
- Kidney infections
- Kidney stone disease
- Recurrent urinary tract infections
- Metabolic disorders resulting from kidney dysfunction
- Fluid and electrolyte disorders
- Inherited kidney diseases
- Hypertension, including complex hypertension
- Renovascular hypertension
What treatments do we offer?
Chronic Dialysis
Sheba’s Chronic Dialysis Unit is one of the largest in the country – equipped with frontline equipment to ensure the quality of dialysis. We perform more than 2,000 dialysis treatments for patients with severe renal failure every month. Weekly, we provide chronic dialysis treatment for approximately 240 patients with end-stage renal failure.
Peritoneal Dialysis – Home Treatment
Peritoneal dialysis (PD) uses the lining of your abdomen to filter waste from your blood. It is a treatment for kidney failure that is done at home, making dialysis easier to do more frequently. A surgeon inserts a catheter, and a specialist dialysis nurse provides detailed training for each patient so the treatment can be done independently at home. Patients on PD have direct, 24/7 access to our institute’s staff for any problems or questions that may arise. The condition of each patient and the quality of dialysis is reviewed monthly by our medical and nursing staff. When necessary, the team will refer each patient for further testing or treatment.
Vascular Clinic
In this highly specialized clinic, a vascular surgeon evaluates the condition of every patient with advanced kidney failure to plan the surgical creation of a fistula (or graft) for dialysis. Our team also addresses all problems that may arise with the fistula or graft, making any necessary surgical or angiographic corrections.
Pre-dialysis Clinic
The Pre-dialysis Clinic serves patients with end-stage renal disease who have not yet started dialysis treatments or require preparation for a kidney transplant. We provide advanced, personalized treatments for anemia, hypertension, fluid and electrolyte disorders, and resulting bone diseases. Our team also determines the most appropriate type and timing of the kidney transplant.
Molecular Nephrology and Hypertension Laboratory
In this unit, we provide PCR-based diagnosis of Glucocorticoid-Remediable Hypertension (GRA), Fabry’s Disease, Dent’s Disease and other genetic kidney diseases.
Kidney Transplant Clinic
In our outpatient clinic, a team of experienced, multidisciplinary specialists evaluate adult candidates for renal transplantation. Doctors from Sheba’s Nephrology Division and Organ Transplant Center collaborate to provide comprehensive management for each patient.
Our Doctors
Dganit Dinour, MD
Director, Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension
Dr. Dinour received her medical degree from The Hebrew University School of Medicine, Jerusalem, and specialized in nephrology at the University of California, San Francisco. She is a member of the Association of Nephrology and Hypertension, as well as a senior lecturer at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University.
Pazit Beckerman, MD
Deputy Director, Institute of Nephrology and Hypertension
Dr. Beckerman received her medical degree from The Hebrew University – Hadassah Medical School, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, and she completed a subspecialty in nephrology at Sheba before doing her postdoc fellowship at the Department of Nephrology and Hypertension at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN), and has a particular research interest in the genetic, genomic, and molecular studies of kidney disease.
Our Holistic Approach to Healing
Kidney disease and hypertension are both conditions that affect the function of all parts of your body. In addition to providing medical and surgical treatments, your Sheba team will personalize your therapy with recommendations for healthy lifestyle changes. To help you implement these changes, we offer easy access to a range of supportive services, including dietitians, specialized nurses, and social workers, on our all-inclusive campus. When custom-designing your holistic treatment program, we pay attention to your physical, emotional, and social needs – thereby promoting high quality of life while you cope with kidney disease and hypertension.
