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VASCULAR ACCESS
Port-a-catheter Placement
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A port-a-catheter is a vascular access device that can be used to help patients receive medications intravenously or to give blood transfusions or to take blood samples. It consists of a small chamber or reservoir that sits under the skin and is attached to a small catheter which is inserted into a vein. The procedure is done under local anesthesia with or without some IV sedation with two short incisions. Since the catheter is tunneled under the skin from the chamber, all parts of the device are hidden from view. The patient will feel a raised area on their chests where the port is implanted, but the port is very thin. It is easily accessed by nurses when needed with a short needle that passes through the overlying skin barrier and then into the chamber. Medications can then be given, or blood withdrawn for laboratory testing.
Key Advantages:
- Outpatient procedure without need of an operating room
- Can stay inside the patient for months, sometimes for years, with minimal maintenance requirements
- The patient can bath or even swim without disturbing the device
- Easily removed when treatment is finished
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