Port removed vein still prominent
Hi Ladies!
I’m wondering if anyone has experienced this or knows what it could possibly be. I had a port placed in Nov 2020 and just had it finally removed the end of April 2022. For at least one year that I had the port and quite possibly longer, I noticed that the vein that had the catheter in it would stick out in a very prominent way if I turned my head/neck a certain way. It looked and felt like a firm cord in my neck. I could not wait for the port to be removed because I was certain things would go back to normal. But the port and catheter were removed at my phase 2 surgery and my vein still has that one area that pops out like a firm cord in my neck? What could this be? I did have a DVT in my leg after I got Covid? Could I have had a clot in my neck that scarred over and caused this? Could trauma to vein cause this? I’ve tried googling this and the only thing I can find says blood clot which I do not currently have or right sided heart failure. I really don’t think it’s that either. I see the oncologist week and will ask her about it. Just wondering if anyone else has had this. Thanks
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Hi farmerswife! Sorry you're dealing with this. Does this area seem warm to the touch? Do you have any tenderness or pain there? Is the area red or swollen? If so, these could be signs of a blood clot, as you suspected: Blood Clots and Phlebitis
Good you'll be asking your doctor, we hope she has some answers for you! Please let us know what she has to say.
Hoping some others chime in soon for you!
--The Mods
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Hello Farmerswife. Yes, I have something similar, which annoys me a bit. I complained and had a venous duplex scan which showed everything normal, but it still feels strange to me. It has been 8 months since my port was removed and it still bugs me a little. It's good that you are seeing the doctor soon and can ask about it. Good luck.
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Thank you for your replies. It is not warm to the touch or painful. It just feels and looks like a firm cord in the vein where the port catheter was. I’ve had it for a year or longer. It has not changed in any way. I figured it would go away when the port was removed but it’s still there. I just would like to know what it is and what caused it
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I had my last port removed in early 2019 and it continued to look and feel like I still had the catheter in the vein. The radiologist told me this was normal and was due to fibrous tissue forming around the vein. I still have it to this day and when I lay in certain positions I feel a pulling as if the port catheter were still there.
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wc3 thank you for your response. You described exactly what I have. I was fairly certain it was some sort of trauma to the blood vessel. I wish it wasn’t there but I feel a lot better knowing that it most likely is nothing ominous. Thanks
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wc3 this fibrous tissue doesn’t narrow the blood vessel in any way does it? Do you have to have it monitored at all?
I saw my oncologist today. She hasn’t seen this often but she has seen it. Given the amount of time I’ve had this and where it’s located she feels very certain it is scar tissue so for now we are just going to keep an eye on it. I’m comfortable with that.
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farmerswife:
I'm not sure if it narrows the vein but the radiologist who removed the port was not concerned and I haven't had any issues aside from the occasional mild discomfort and tugging sensation.
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Hello- my daughter has this same exact thing. Do any of you have an update?How are you doing over the last two years, and do you still have the hard vein? My daughter is 5 years old now and we just thankfully completed her treatment for leukemia. Her port was removed and now the vein in her neck is hard like a cord/tube. I thought the port catheter was there, and it’s go away after the port removal. Yesterday, I got X-rays to see if it’s a foreign body and that came back negative. I got an ultrasound on it today as well. The ultrasound techs had a really hard time getting images of it. The radiologist just said it must be scar tissue. I know your original comment was posted over two years ago. I hope someone responds. Thank you
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Hi there @derwake! We're so happy to hear your daughter has finished her treatment, we wish her and your family all the best on her continued recovery and many, many years of health and happiness. Is it unlikely that you'll get a response from any of the members who posted on this thread originally, as none of them have been active on this site in over a year. But it sounds like, based on what the members shared originally and what the doctors you've consulted with so far, it may be an issue that will take time to resolve but one that does not seem to pose a risk. If you continue to have concerns about the hardness in the vein, or your little one experiences a change in symptoms (pain, redness or swelling, etc), we definitely recommend having the radiologist or surgeon to placed the port take a look at it again.
The Mods
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I still have my port and I also have it - looks like a hard vein. It was not there before. I noticed that hard vein appearing after I had my chemo port flushed.
Well that sucks that if I have it removed it will stay there?
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