PORT PLACEMENT - Detailed description of process
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I was that patient and that nurse was in no way an IDIOT. She was actually one of the most competent and caring nurses I've ever encountered. Everyone's situation is different and referring to the nurse as an idiot and the patient as stupid (even though it was later deleted), without knowing any history, is probably not the best way to garner any credibility.
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Gracie, what are you referring to? Please be specific.
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Hi,I'm new at this.Had mastectomy RB. 2/29/13 With reconstruction however I got an infection and it had to be removed prematurely. 4/29/13 I have Appt w/ surgeon to discuss port placement. I will say I am very scared. I have never been sick a day in my life. I know after reading about all of you brave ladies out there that I will be fine.please post some does and don't s for Chemo.
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Hi it's me again Gma the new one at this. Trying to fine some one that is just starting Chemo so we can connect and perhaps exchange encouragement. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IM IN FOR . Need to know what to do or not to do. HELP!!!
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Hi gma, it might help if you post what your diagnosis is and what kind of chemo you will be getting. There are many kinds out there, of both chemo and types of breast cancer. Are you Er + and her2 -? Also what stage are you?
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I am new here. I have been reading posts at times, but this is my first post. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2012 after a lumpectomy. Then, had single mastectomy on the right side in December. Had a Bard powerport placed under my left clavicle in January and began chemo treatments that same day. In April, the port had problems due to a crack in the catheter (pinch-off syndrome) and I had to have it removed. At the same time, the surgeon felt it would be best to put a new port in my left arm. I only had 6 treatments left at the time. The day after the new port placement was my next treatment. They were unable to access it due to too much pain and swelling. Yesterday was 1 week post-surgery and they were still did not want to try and access the port due to too much swelling. There is not a lot of bruising or redness, it is not hot to the touch, there is some mild pain when pressed, and there is a hardened area under and around the port. The Onc saw it yesterday and said it looks better than it did last week, so he was not concerned. I am just wondering what this lump is, and how long does it take for the swelling to go down enough that the port can be accessed. At this point, I only have 4 treatments left and feel it was pointless to get the new port.
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Davick, sorry your having trouble with the port. Your doc is the one to ask what's up with the port. You already can identify signs/symptoms of infection. Also, report anything new you are concerned with, and any new changes in the arm below where the port is inserted, shortness of breath. Shortness of breath call EMS. Good Luck.
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sas-schatzi, I just wanted to tell you how important it is to keep bumping this thread. It is the only real info I have seen on this. Thank you.
Question here--I've always wondered why I felt like I was hit by a truck after my port placement (please note this only applies to me and I have not heard of this before for you ladies who are reading this thread--it doesn't mean it will happen to you). Anyway, the next day when I tried to get out of bed it was so painful I couldn't believe it and was painful for a week. Really painful--I couldn't really do much.
Another question--why don't they always do the port placement and taking out the port when you are under anesthesia? I can't imagine being awake.
Thanks again for keeping this thread going.
Liz
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Liz sorry you had the prolonged experience that you had. Each persons experience is so different. The thing that is common is TBird 57's description. There have been members on this thread that described the same scenario as yours. Most are okay by the end of one week. Some are fine in a few hours. The skill of the surgeon is important. The more they've put in the less complaints(surgical/medical use of word).
There was a discussion a few pages back about removal. Scroll back and see if you can find it. I tend towards having it removed under operating room/special procedure room conditions, but many have it removed in the office.
Please put this in your Favs and bump it too, if you've seen the time has been too long
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moderators, please understand. I had just tried to click on the link that is in the body of the text,that is supposed to show pictures of the procedure, and my computer told me that it was a sight that was full of malware,and warned me stop. I didnt kow ho to contact you, so i clicked on report this post and i guess i thought it was going to let me type why i thought it needed to be reported so i clicked the other button. i am sorry, i was just trying to protect other women's computers. I love bco, and did not mean any harm. Please don't send me away, i couldn't deal with it.
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RemoveKathec you can send them a note, They won't throw you off:) Honest sassy
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Hi all, we've addressed the problem with Kath. It seems the link that tbird posted was broken. We've replaced it with an updated link.
thanks!
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Thank you for posting this! I am going in tomorrow for my port and did not know what to expect. :-)
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PORT PLACEMENT AND THEN STATING CHEMO THE NEXT DAY???? Anyone else have that? I thought they would give me time to recover?!?!?!?
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Alibeths - yes. Its not uncommon... They left my port "accessed" after putting it in. Just padded and taped everything down overnight and then the chemo nurses untaped the tubing the next day and used it for my chemo.
Jenn0 -
Were you knoecked out???
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Ali, you have gone through the procedure by now, come back and tell us how you did?
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It's set for the 11th
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Alibeths, do you know if will you will be 'under' for the procedure?
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They said twilight?????? Were you??
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I had my port placed on Wed and chemo today. Yes, they often do chemo close on the same day of the port placement or in our case within days. I had twilight and found it very comfortable...I turned into a chatter box but have no I idea what I was talking about ;-)
I am very thin and so there was not much body fat to put the port into and yesterday I was surprised at how much pain I was in. I called the MO office and asked if there was something they could do to reduce the sensitivity prior to accessing the port. They called in a script for Emla that I applied about 1 hr before my infusssion. Worked like a dream, I din't feel the needle at all. Today the pain is 90% better.
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Alibeths, yes, mine was twilight. The only way to do it as far as I'm concerned. I would suggest that you get a prescription for the EMLA cream. The cream will numb you so you don't feel the needle stick when they do your chemo. robin just mentioned it above and she can tell you more about it.
robin, glad to hear it worked like a dream. My oncologists office aways sprays your port with a numbing agent but most oncologists do not, hence the EMLA cream.
Good luck, ladies!
Liz
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I'm new to this and need some advice. I need to schedule surgery for port placement in a couple weeks. Will start chemo in early July. A friend had her lung punctured during port placement so I'm nervous. She suggested having the surgery done through Interventional Radiology since they can use guided radiography. We're both thin so I understand that the risk of puncturing the lung could be higher. Not sure whether to schedule with my surgeon or Interventional Radiology. Has anyone used Interventional Radiology for port placement?
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lark, do they put you out for the Interventional Radiology? That's one thing you might like to know. I had the standard procedure where they put the port in while you are under anesthesia or twilight.
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Cowgirl, how was it??
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Alibeths, getting the port put in was a piece of cake. I think mainly because I was in a twilight sleep. I had an unusual reaction the following day--I felt like i'd been kicked by a horse but this is only MY experience. I haven't heard of anyone else have those symtoms. Jumping ahead a little, before you have your first chemo, be sure and ask your oncologist for some EMLA cream. You put it over your port and it numbs the area so you really don't feel anything when they hook up the IV for chemo.
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Lark ,
The chance of a lung puncture is very, very small, about 1%. Although not pleasant, it happens so rarely that it shouldn't be something to worry about. I don't mean to trivialize your concern but it is a rare complication. I was that 1% and had a miserable time of it but I know that this is extremely unlikely to happen to the vast majority of patients.0 -
Hello all, been on a break.
Interventional radiology suites are set up to the same standards as an operating room these days. If surgical placement not done by surgeon , it is done by an interventional radiologists which is an MD or DO that has taken advance training in all the procedures that they perform. One item that may be different is that the IV administration of the twilght med maybe given by a nurse under the supervision of the doc. Each year this situation continues to change and more anesthesiologists/Crna's are being utilized. This may be one aspect that you want to question before agreeing to having the surgery in an IT suite. Twilight in medical jargon is Intravenous (IV) Conscious Sedation.
Specially trained nurses would administer the meds. I used to do it. It's a tremendous responsibility. I think the trend away from using nurses is a good thing. But I'm sure you can find counters to this. The key is if in an emergency should occur during the procedure who is best qualified to handle it. My opinion is the Anestheiologist or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist(CRNA) who functions under the direction of the anesthiologist.
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Im a week out from port placement...2 ?'s
-How long did you wait to shower/swim??
-It sometimes gives me a weird pain when i bend down or laugh in my throat/neck? I called DR. today, waiting on a call back....This has been worse then lumpectomy!!!
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Hi Alibeths,
Everyone heals differently, but most feel better a week to 10 days out. I don't want to panic you but I had a complete pneumothorax of my lung on the port side and had no symptoms other than a funny feeling when I bent at a 90 degree angle and a crackling sound in my throat. This went on for 2 weeks after port placement before it was discovered. This is a rare complication, really, but may be worth mentioning to your surgeon. Wishing you the best.0
