Provider Information

Learn How We Can Help Your Patients

Texas Kidney Institute welcomes new patients and continues to offer care to existing patients. Whichever situation you’re in, we have resources to help you as a provider to refer patients to us and answer any questions you or your patients may have.

Refer a Patient Call: (214) 396-4950

 

Award Winning Kidney Specialists

Why Choose Texas Kidney Institute?

Texas Kidney Institute in Dallas, Texas was founded by Dr. Sumit Kumar in 2012. Our Team consists of doctors with advanced training in the field of chronic kidney disease, untreated hypertension, post kidney transplant care, diabetes related kidney problems, anemia and dialysis care. Our hope is that you will feel confident in our ability to meet and exceed all of your expectations.

Texas Kidney Institute welcomes new patients in to our practice and continues offer ongoing care to existing patients.

Conditions We Treat

A healthy and productive kidney is an abdominal organ involved in removing waste products from the blood. However, the kidneys could potentially get affected by inflammation, infection, obstruction, structural defects, injuries, tumors and stone formation. The Dallas Nephrologists at Texas Kidney Institute diagnose and treat various kidney related conditions which include:

Acid-base homeostasis is fundamental for maintaining life. Acid-base disorders are disruptions of that homeostasis.

The four recognized primary acid-base disorders are comprised of two metabolic disorders (acidosis and alkalosis) and two respiratory disorders (acidosis and alkalosis). Disorders are classified as metabolic if the change in pH is primarily due to an altercation in HCO3- and respiratory if the change is primarily due to a change in PCO2, or an increase or decrease in ventilation. Acidosis refers to physiologic processes that cause acid accumulation or alkali loss. Alkalosis refers to physiologic processes that cause alkali accumulation or acid loss.

Whenever an acid-base disorder is present, compensatory mechanisms begin to correct the pH, but they cannot return pH completely to normal and never overshoot.

Compensated or mild acid-base disorders cause few symptoms and signs. However, severe, uncompensated disorders may have multiple cardiovascular, respiratory, neurologic, and metabolic consequences. More than one primary acid-base disorder may be present simultaneously, so it is important to identify and address each disorder.

Acid-base homeostasis is fundamental for maintaining life. Acid-base disorders are disruptions of that homeostasis.

The four recognized primary acid-base disorders are comprised of two metabolic disorders (acidosis and alkalosis) and two respiratory disorders (acidosis and alkalosis). Disorders are classified as metabolic if the change in pH is primarily due to an altercation in HCO3- and respiratory if the change is primarily due to a change in PCO2, or an increase or decrease in ventilation. Acidosis refers to physiologic processes that cause acid accumulation or alkali loss. Alkalosis refers to physiologic processes that cause alkali accumulation or acid loss.

Whenever an acid-base disorder is present, compensatory mechanisms begin to correct the pH, but they cannot return pH completely to normal and never overshoot.

Compensated or mild acid-base disorders cause few symptoms and signs. However, severe, uncompensated disorders may have multiple cardiovascular, respiratory, neurologic, and metabolic consequences. More than one primary acid-base disorder may be present simultaneously, so it is important to identify and address each disorder.

Anemia is a condition in which the body has fewer red blood cells than normal. Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and organs throughout the body and enable them to use energy from food. With anemia, less oxygen is carried to tissues and organs, specifically the heart and brain, so they may not function as well as they should.

Anemia commonly occurs in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and tends to worsen as CKD progresses. Most people who have kidney failure, or a total loss of kidney function, have anemia.

When kidneys are diseased or damaged, they do not produce enough erythropoietin, a hormone that prompts bone marrow to make red blood cells. Other causes of anemia in people with kidney disease include blood loss from hemodialysis and low levels of iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid.

Signs and symptoms of anemia in someone with CKD may include:

  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Body and headaches
  • Problems with concentration
  • Paleness
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Chest pain

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is the gradual loss of kidney function, which prohibits kidneys from filtering waste and excess fluids from blood and excreting them through urine. When CKD reaches an advanced stage, it can allow dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes, and urea to build up inside the body.

Causes of CKD include diabetes, high blood pressure, and other disorders.

In the early stages of CKD, there are few signs and symptoms of this disease and they typically do not become apparent until after the regression of kidney function.

Signs and symptoms of CKD include:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Sleep problems
  • Changes in how much you urinate
  • Decreased mental sharpness
  • Muscle twitches and cramps
  • Swelling of feet and ankles
  • Persistent itching
  • Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
  • Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
  • High blood pressure or hypertension

Factors that may increase the risk of CKD include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and blood vessel disease, smoking, obesity, race, family history of kidney disease, abnormal kidney structure, and older age.

Individuals with CKD may develop complications like fluid retention, high blood pressure, anemia, weak bones, poor nutritional health, and nerve damage. CKD may also increase the risk of heart and blood vessel disease.

An electrolyte disorder occurs when the levels of electrolytes in the body are either too high or too low. Electrolytes, such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, and sodium, are ingested with food, drinks, and supplements, and are present in blood, bodily fluids, and urine. Electrolytes control physiologic functions and must be maintained in an even balance for the body to function properly.

Mild forms of electrolyte disorders may not cause any symptoms and may sometimes go undetected. Severe disorders show more symptoms and can become life-threatening if left untreated.

Electrolyte disorders are most often caused by a loss of bodily fluid through prolonged vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating. However, other causes of electrolyte disorders include medications or underlying diseases. Hypercalcemia, hyperchloremia, hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and hyperphosphatemia can all be caused by either kidney disease or kidney failure.

Common signs and symptoms of electrolyte disorders include:

  • Irregular heartbeat or fast heart rate
  • Fatigue or lethargy
  • Convulsions or seizures
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Diarrhea or constipation
  • Muscle weakness or cramping
  • Irritability and confusion
  • Headaches
  • Numbness and tingling

End-stage renal disease (ESRD), or end-stage kidney disease, occurs when chronic kidney disease reaches an advanced stage and the kidneys are no longer able to work as they should to meet the body’s needs to filter waste and excess fluids from the blood. This can result in dangerous levels of fluid, electrolytes, and wastes building up in the body.

Signs and symptoms of ESRD include:

  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Sleep problems
  • Changes in how much you urinate
  • Decreased mental sharpness
  • Muscle twitches and cramps
  • Swelling of feet and ankles
  • Persistent itching
  • Chest pain, if fluid builds up around the lining of the heart
  • Shortness of breath, if fluid builds up in the lungs
  • High blood pressure or hypertension

Glomerulonephritis is the inflammation of the glomeruli, the part of the kidney that filters blood. When the kidney is injured, it becomes unable to filter wastes and extra fluid in the body.

Glomerulonephritis can be acute or chronic depending on the speed of its development.

Acute glomerulonephritis develops suddenly. Early signs and symptoms include:

  • Puffiness of the face in the morning
  • Blood in urine (or brown urine)
  • Urinating less than usual
  • Shortness of breath or coughing due to extra fluid in the lungs
  • High blood pressure

Chronic glomerulonephritis develops gradually and often leads to complete kidney failure.

Early signs and symptoms include:

  • Blood in urine (or brown urine)
  • Protein in urine (bubbly or foamy urine)
  • High blood pressure
  • Swelling of the face, hands, feet, and abdomen
  • Frequent nighttime urination

Hematuria is the presence of blood in urine. Hematuria can be classified as gross hematuria or microscopic hematuria. In gross hematuria, blood is visible in the urine, producing pink, red, or brown urine. In microscopic hematuria, blood is not visibly present in the urine, but can be seen under a microscope.

Causes of hematuria include an enlarged prostate, urinary stones, medications, strenuous exercise, infections, a family history of kidney disease, or a disease or condition that affects one or more organs.

The main symptom of hematuria is pink, red, or brown urine. Even a small amount of blood in the urine can cause urine to change color. In most cases, people with gross hematuria do not have other signs and symptoms. However, people with gross hematuria that includes blood clots in the urine may have bladder or back pain as they pass.

Hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure. Hypertension can stretch and weaken blood vessels in the kidneys, reducing their ability to work properly. This may result in a lowered ability of the kidneys to remove wastes and extra fluids from the body. As extra fluids build up in the blood vessels, blood pressure may continue to rise, creating a dangerous cycle. High blood pressure is the second leading cause of kidney failure in the United States.

Renal hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure caused by kidney disease. Renal hypertension may be caused by a narrowing in the arteries that deliver blood to the kidney, causing the kidneys to act as if they are dehydrated. This signals the kidneys to retain sodium and water, causing the blood vessels to fill with additional fluid and blood pressure to rise.

Although hypertension can be present for years without presenting any symptoms, damage to the blood vessels and heart happens and can be detected. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Some symptoms of high blood pressure include headaches, shortness of breath, and nosebleeds, but these symptoms are not specific and typically do not occur until high blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage.

Kidney stones (renal lithiasis, nephrolithiasis) are small, hard deposits of minerals and salts that form inside your kidney, typically forming when urine becomes concentrated, allowing minerals to crystallize and stick together.

Some kidney stones are as small as a grain of sand, others as large as a pebble, and a few are even larger. As a general rule, the larger the stone, the more noticeable the pain and symptoms.

A kidney stone may not cause symptoms until it moves around the kidney or passes into the ureter.

At that point, signs and symptoms may include:

  • Severe pain in the side and back, below the ribs
  • Pain that radiates to the lower abdomen and groin
  • Pain during urination
  • Blood in the urine
  • Cloudy or foul-smelling urine
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Persistent need to urinate, urinating more often than usual, or urinating in small amounts
  • Fever and chills

Kidney stones start to hurt when they cause irritation or blockage, which can build rapidly to cause extreme pain. In most cases, however, kidney stones can pass without causing permanent damage, but usually not without causing a lot of pain.

Metabolic syndrome is not a disease, but rather a group of risk factors including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and abdominal fat. When these conditions occur together, they can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Metabolic syndrome is closely linked to overweight or obesity and inactivity, as well as a condition called insulin resistance.

Most of the disorders associated with metabolic syndrome have no symptoms. A large waist circumference is a visible sign, and if your blood sugar is very high, you might have signs and symptoms of diabetes, as well as increased thirst and urination, fatigue, and blurred vision.

Some factors that can increase the risk of having metabolic syndrome include increased age, race, obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is the narrowing of the peripheral arteries to the legs, stomach, arms, and head, and can be caused by atherosclerosis, which narrows and blocks arteries in various critical regions of the body. PAD is a common circulatory problem and mainly affects the legs.

Most people with PAD have mild or no symptoms.

Signs and symptoms of PAD include:

  • Painful cramping in the hip, thigh, or calf muscles after certain activities, such as walking or climbing stairs
  • Leg numbness or weakness
  • Coldness in the lower leg or foot
  • Sores on the toes, feet, or legs that won’t heal
  • Change in the color of legs
  • Hair loss or slower hair growth on the feet and legs
  • Slower growth of the toenails
  • Shiny skin on the legs
  • No pulse or a weak pulse in the legs and feet
  • Erectile dysfunction in men

Some factors that can increase the risk for PAD include smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and increased age.

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) refers to an inherited disorder characterized by the formation of cysts in the kidneys, causing the kidneys to enlarge and lose function over time. The cysts are noncancerous round sacs that contain fluid, vary in size, and can grow very large. PKD can also cause cysts to develop in the liver and elsewhere in the body.

The two types of PKD are autosomal dominant (ADPKD) and autosomal recessive (ARPKD). Individuals with ADPKD typically begin to show signs and symptoms between the ages of 30 and 40, but children can also develop the disorder. ARPKD is less common than ADPKD, and symptoms typically appear shortly after birth, up until adolescence.

Signs and symptoms of PKD can include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Back or side pain
  • Headache
  • A feeling of fullness in the abdomen
  • Increased size of the abdomen due to enlarged kidneys
  • Blood in the urine
  • Kidney stones
  • Kidney failure
  • Urinary tract or kidney infections

Pregnancy can place a lot of stress on the mother’s body. With the addition of renal disease or kidney failure, it can put both the health of the mother and of the unborn child at risk.

Factors that can include a healthy pregnancy include:

  • Stage of mother’s kidney disease
  • General health of the mother
  • Age of the mother
  • Whether the mother has high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease
  • Whether the mother has other serious health conditions
  • Whether the mother has protein in her urine

Proteinuria is the presence of abnormal quantities of protein in the urine, and is often a sign of kidney disease. Healthy kidneys do not allow a significant amount of protein to pass through their filters, but filters damaged by kidney disease may let proteins such as albumin leak from the blood into the urine.

Proteinuria can be caused by damaged kidneys or the overproduction of proteins by the body. Other causes include medications, trauma, toxins, infections, and immune system disorders.

If there is not a lot of protein in the urine, there will be no symptoms presented. However, as the proteinuria becomes more severe, urine may become foamy, frothy, or bubbly-looking, and there may be swelling in the hands, feet, abdomen, or face.

Some factors that can increase the risk of proteinuria are diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, age over 65, family history of kidney disease, and race.

Insurance Plans Accepted

This may not be a complete list and may change at any time with or without notice. Please check with the office to be sure that your Insurance plan is accepted and obtain all necessary authorizations from your insurance company prior to your new patient visit.

We also accept payments from uninsured patients; however, full payment must be received the day of service.

For your convenience we accept cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover as forms of payment.

  • Aetna
  • Aetna Commercial
  • Aetna Medicare PPO & HMO
  • BCBS Blue HMO
  • BCBS TX Medicare PPO
  • BeechStreet PPO
  • Cigna
  • Coventry Advantra MA PPO
  • Galaxy Health Network
  • HealthSmart GEPO
  • Humana Choice Care
  • Humana Medicare HMO
  • IMS PPO
  • Prime Health Services
  • Superior
  • UHC Medicare Adv
  • Aetna CHIP
  • Aetna Medicaid
  • Averde
  • BCBS TX HMO
  • BCBS TX PPO/POS
  • Bravo
  • Coventry
  • First Health
  • HealthSmart Accel
  • HealthSmart PPO
  • Humana MA PFFS
  • Humana Medicare PPO
  • Molina
  • SmartCare
  • Texan Plus
  • United Healthcare

Hospitals Served

  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Carrolton
    Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Lake Pointe
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – White Rock
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Sunnyvale
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Dallas
  • City Hospital – White Rock
  • Centennial Medical Center
  • Dallas Medical Center
  • Dallas Regional Medical Center
  • Encompass Plano Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital of Dallas
  • Encompass Rehabilitation Hospital of Richardson
  • Edgewood Rehab ad Care Center – Mesquite
  • First Texas Hospital
  • First Baptist Medical Center – Dallas
  • Kindred Hospital – Dallas
  • Kindred Hospital – Dallas Central
  • Kindred Hospital – White Rock
  • Lifecare Hospitals of Plano
  • Medical City – Dallas
  • Medical City – McKinney
  • Medical City – Plano
  • Medical City – Frisco
  • Mesquite Rehabilitation Institute
  • Mesquite Specialty Hospital
  • Methodist Hospital For Surgery
  • Methodist Richardson Medical Center
  • North Park Heart & Vascular
  • Pam Rehabilitation Hospital of Allen
  • Plano Specialty Hospital
  • Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas
  • Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman
  • PowerBack Rehabilitation – Richardson
  • Presbyterian Village North – SNF – Dallas
  • Select Specialty Hospital – Carrolton
  • Select Specialty Hospital – Garland
  • Select Specialty Hospital – Downtown Dallas
  • San Remo – Richardson – LTAC
  • Senior Care @ Rowlett
  • Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
  • Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Carrolton
  • Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano
  • Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall
  • The Heart Hospital Baylor – Plano
  • The Highlands of Dallas
  • The Meadows Health and Rehabilitation Center
  • Vibra Specialty Hospital – Richardson
  • Walnut Place Nursing Home

Get Started Today

Do you have questions about kidney disease? Reach out today to get started or get in touch with one of our friendly team members who will help you begin the road to healing.

Schedule Appointment Call: (214) 396-4950