PORT PLACEMENT - Detailed description of process
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I had a bit of trouble and went through th ER... Still in hospital. .. from dehydration with low kidney function and low potassium. ... the TCHP really kicked my butt.
Good white blood count at least.
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Hi April25,
I just want you to know that I am thinking of you and hoping you are feeling better.
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April,
Hope you're feeling better soon. Sorry that you had to go to the ER. No, I wouldn't expect the er nurses to be port certified. Since they deal with emergent situations, they just want to get the line in quickly and not deal with the whole process for port access. Take care
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April, ask if they are running Normal Saline. Important question. You've probably heard the statement "right patient, right drug , right route" Same goes for IV fluids. " Right patient, right fluids for right problem". Normal Saline is the fluid of choice to keep the kidneys working and correcting dehydration. unless dehydrationis very severe, then there is a whole different protocol.
HelllooooooooooSpecialK Hugs
Exbrnxgrl Thanks for watching this thread. May I ask how you picked your screen name? I'm me and my dear Schatzi, a german wired haired pointer.
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thank you for posting this in detail. I am going in two days for the port to be placed. Then my first round of chemo will start that same morning. I was worried about the port procedure but you put my mind at ease, thank you!0 -
Dancia--tb57's description was written years ago. It's as good then, as it is now. She hasn't posted in years. No idea what happened to her. If you read from the beginning you will find nuances of Port info. All members reports are good too review and store away for future reference.. Never know when a single post may make a difference to your life
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April, Sorry you ended up in ER. I haven't had my port for long & I have found that when I have blood work or a scan scheduled, I need to call Medical Daycare or the Chemo room to get my port accessed. Then I can go & have whatever work done. Most dept's in the hospital do not have anyone who can access your port. It means a lot more time in town for me, but it's better than having them stick my arm. I figure I might need those arms in an emergency & the less they are accessed the better. Hope you're out soon, GG
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sas,
I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. I have lived in CA for over 25 years, and several other places for 10 years before that, but I'm a Bronx girl at heart. Hence, exbrnxgrl
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Caryn, that makes sense. You will laugh, for ages when I first joined BCO, I always thought your name was EXBMXgrl, so I always pictured you on a BMX bike!! LOL! Dee
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My mom's side of the family is NYC, Queens, Long Island, Jersey, so I recognized the "brnx" reference. Oh...and my sister went to NYU Law School. I never got to love in the City, though...
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I'm actually not feeling horrible. .. just hope I can somehow make it through chemo. That worries me. But I'm about to switch to a UCLA affiliated mo who is very thorough and up to date. Hopefully he can figure out a way to help.
Not sure what kind of potassium chloride drip thing they've got me on. But they are tapering it off as I'm not really dehydrated any longer (after 48 hours!)... plus....*sigh*
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sas - hellloooo to you too!
april - you need to be very careful to eat and drink in little amounts, all day - every day, to keep your strength up. Many people lose their appetite, or can't taste anything, so they stop eating and drinking - and this is dangerous. Your docs need to find a solution for the Big D that you can pre-emptively take since several of the drugs in your regimen cause GI issues, particularly Perjeta. If you have nausea they need to find whatever combination of anti-emetic/anti-nausea drugs will control it.
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SpecialK -- It was mostly the big D. I'd take protein shakes and drinks and everything would come right back out. Even here in the hospital they are giving me their strongest anti-D pills and it has slightly slowed it down but I still have it... I think the center in TX is looking into these sorts of problems.... So Maybe there is something that can be done... or maybe just start taking the strongest pills right away... anyway I do hope there's some thing that will work.
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april - I had it the first 10 days out of the 21 between infusions, bad enough that I didn't leave the house except for doctor's appts., then it would stop. It was never so severe that I was not retaining some nutrition. I ate and drank throughout the day in small amounts - sometimes following the BRAT diet used for babies and kids - bananas, rice, apple and toast. I was just worried that you stopped eating and drinking. I hope they will advise that you use the anti-D meds right from the start - much like they way anti-nausea meds are prescribed - stay ahead of it.
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I was trying to eat and drink but I think the D just got so bad that It made no difference. I was looking more at the anti - nausea drugs I was taking and didn't start doing enough about the D until it was too late.
I'm definitely forewarned now! Hopefully the prescription anti-D pills will work and I can use them next time.
Eating enough protein will be difficult but most of the protein shakes I can get down. Just need to be able to not have them go back out...!
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april - pay attention to the amount of fiber you consume too - you want very little fiber when experiencing the D - present as little challenge to your GI system as possible. You learn each infusion about timing of meds and side effects - you were unfortunate to have this first one be tough one!
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Why have there been no posts here for years? Unless this information has changed over the years, this is very helpful information. I go in on Tuesday to get my port. I was completely scared of having a port but the thought of IV every single time I would have to go in for chemotherapy scared me even more.
Thank you ladies for sharing your experiences. My surgeon explained the process he was going to do but I think the explanations above are more helpful because they come from people who have been through it rather than from a medical stand point.
sorry, I was looking at the membership dates not the post dates. Lol. Silly me. But it's still great information.
Thanks ladies
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mommacat4,
You misunderstood sas-schatzi's post. She said that the person who started this thread (op) hadn't signed in to bco in years and her description of port placement is as good today as it was then. This thread has, indeed, had many posts over the years! Sometimes, on this thread and others, members ask questions of the op without realizing that they have posted on a very inactive thread and the person they are questioning hasn't signed on to bco in years.Good luck with your port placement .
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The port info here helped me a lot.
I do think a newer video link might help. I was fearing a HUGE big lump of a port even tho people were talking about pea - sized ones. I tend to be very visual. ...
SpecialK -- oh. I hadn't thought about the fiber! Thanks!
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April,
Yes, visuals of all port brands would be helpful. Yours looks pretty low profile because of the brand, Bard, but some brands are more prominent in appearance and do look like short cylinders. I also think location and body type can effect appearance. How are you feeling
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exbrnxgirl -- oh. For some reason I didn't even think the ports varied much! I mean... it makes sense. Again... I guess I'd have to see it. And I hadn't had a second to do that beforehand... I'd only checked the brand.
Well I'm glad the bards aren't huge.
I know that my sister was saying it looked ok because her friend had a huge port that was partially outside... we were wondering if it was older or if it was just something different she needed... and that most ports were now like mine. I should Google I guess.
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April,
Yup, quite few different companies make ports. I doubt patients have much say in what is chosen, since we lack the medical expertise to make those decisions. As far as I know, ports are completely implanted devices, nothing on the outside. Perhaps your sister's friend had a PICC line, which is different than a port but can be used for chemo too
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April, I agree with exbrnxgrl, your friend might have had a picc line, but I have to tell you that my port sticks out alot & I have a brand new Bard power port. The nurses have commented that they've never seen someone's port so prominent, they usually have to feel for the 3 dots but mine are very visible. I seem to have thin skin & no fat (not there anyway) Not telling you this to scare you, but I wouldn't want you to be surprised if yours is visible. And I had no say in what port I got or where it was But I am easily able to keep it covered from view even with V neck t shirts & tops. GG
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GG27 -- Mine sticks out a bit. I've had it since the 15th of Dec., so it's still healing up a bit, but it was a lump from day one. I don't have a lot of fat in that area, either... but my skin is still pretty thick. I'm only a year or so out from menopause, so I'm only just getting the crepe-y thinner skin in places... and I'm not a skinny person (not fat, but definitely not on the thin end either!), and naturally have had skin with some subcutaneous fat all my life, so that helps keep at least SOME little layer over the port.
It's OK, though. I've been keeping a band-aid over it while it's healing and to keep things from rubbing on it. And it is missing my bra strap by a hair... but I've not got big breasts so my straps aren't rubbing anywhere much anyway. It's over to the side enough to be covered by most tops. The driver's side seat belt is a SLIGHT problem, but I've bought a pad-thing for that, and I'm sure that'll work fine.
I'm just happy the port isn't as huge as on that video of the guy. I suppose guys would have a bigger problem since they really don't have a lot of fat and things on their chests just look a bit more obvious! But his port really does look pretty big, considering he IS a guy and probably a bit bigger than than many women...
Anyway-- the main thing is that they were able to use my port for my first chemo 2 days after the placement--and it didn't hurt at all! That's a win, as far as I'm concerned!
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exbrnxgrl,
thank you for your response.
April, I agree that the information here about the port has helped me as well. I just had my port placed this morning. I am still a bit groggy from the anesthesia and pain meds. They put it in my left side chest and it is very sensitive to anything touching my skin in that area. Also my neck hurts almost as if I have a pinched nerve. My left arm feels weak but I am sure all these symptoms will go away in a few days.
When the anesthesiologist came in to talk to me beforehand I told him I wanted to be out completely. I didn't want to see, hear or feel anything. He said he thinks they can do a twilight sleep. I said no way. Then he ask my surgeon and my surgeon said he always has his patients out for this procedure.
I have 2 insisions, I am guessing one is for the scope so they could guide the catheter to the proper vein and the other is where the port is located but I feel a small tube running from the 1st incision to the 2nd which is located just below the 1st one about the distance of my forefinger and middle finger side by side.
I have heard of ports not working properly. They are supposed to be a two way access so blood can be drawn and the chemo can be administered. I have heard of one person whose port wouldn't allow anything to be taken out through it. Only allowed for chemo to enter.
Thank you all for your advise, sharing your experiences and all your support.
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Helloooo
One incision is to make a pocket for the port to sit in. The other is to access the vein. A tunnel is made to connect the two. But that is the surgical approach that I was involved with as a surgical nurse. There is different ways to do sx procedures.
Ports are the best thing since IV therapy was invented I was going to quote a date about IV therapy. I always check those types of things. IV therapy goes way back. Incredible---history
My twin was a patient of the inventor of the Port. She was his patient in 1996. At the time I thought it was way cool that he was an inventor. Still is.
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sas-schatzi,
Thank you for explaining the 2 insisions. It makes since now.
Is it normal to feel like I have a pinched nerve in my neck after they put in the port? The thing is this pinched nerve feeling is kind of the whole left side of my neck from front to back. It has gotten better since the first day but it is still there. Also the skin at and around the port is very sensitive to the touch. It even bothers me to have my camisole strap touch it.
I think that's cool that your sister was part of such a big breakthrough in this industry. And of course I can imagine how excited you were about it since you are in the medical profession.
Happy New Year, may all be blessed by Gods grace this year. (I don't mean to offend anyone if you are not a believer in the Lord however, I believe that without him and prayers my situation would be a lot worse)
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sas,
Happy New Year to you ! We must have been on the same wavelength because I was about to ask about the two incision vs. one incision method. I have only one incision, as the actual site of the port. I wonder what makes the difference in choosing one method over the other
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I have the two incision type of port & you can clearly see the tube running up to my neck under my skin. I had blood work done twice this week & both times the RN's commented on how highly visible my port was. One of them was telling me that one woman she had, she could hardly find her port because it was nicely hidden under her thick skin (not fat)
Mommacat, My neck hurt for a few days afterwards. I think you have to have it at an odd angle & then they are manipulating everything to get the tube into the vein that it will take a few days to feel better. They told me to take tylenol if it was bothering me. Best, GG
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Now I really want to understand the difference between the two types of placements. I have no visible tubes, just the three bumps where the actual port is. Going to google this
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exbrnxgrl, my tube kinda looks like a big vein running up my neck, but there is clearly an incision at the top of it. I wish I was better at selfies & I would post a pic. But you can actually see the whole side of my port because it's raised up, not just the bumps on top. GG
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