I went in today to have a venous port installed. That sounds like something that would happen when you take your car to the garage. A venous port is a small bulb-like receptacle that is inserted in a pouch under the skin of the chest. It is connected to a catheter that runs to a major vein so fluids can be injected or blood withdrawn from the vein without having to place an IV in the hand or elbow. The chemotherapeutic agents I will receive are very irritating to the skin or tissue if they come in direct contact with them, so using the port to drip the drugs into the body reduces the risk of complications associated with that contact. It also means that my vein will be spared the damage caused by regular needle punctures.
The port is inserted under a low-level sedation. I can remember at least part of the procedure (near the end), but I’m not sure I was very alert for the whole time. The process began with the usual interview by the nurse in which she asked the usual questions about any allergies to medicines, the presence of a pacemaker, the drugs I am taking, etc. The doctor explained the procedure and obtained consent, then another doctor, who I imagine is a resident, came by to introduce himself.
Then the nurse wheeled me on a gurney into the operating room where a tech was waiting. The room was impressive with seven flat panel displays and other equipment. It took quite some time to get me ready (shaving and sterilizing my chest, putting on a mask and hairnet, putting oxygen nosebuds in place, taking my blood pressure, etc.) and position all of the equipment. I wonder what the two little tubes that go into the nose from an oxygen line are called? We use earbuds to listen to music, so maybe we breathe oxygen through nosebuds.
The insertion of the catheter into the vein was conducted under ultrasound and the finished product was x-rayed. I don’t remember the ultrasound part of the procedure, so I suppose I was at a deeper level of sedation at that time, but I did see the x-ray on one of the displays at the end of the procedure. I was conscious enough during the last part of the procedure to listen to the doctors reposition the catheter and attach it to the port and finish up.
I can’t see the location of the port now because of the dressing that covers it, but that will be removed tomorrow when I get my first chemo. I have only a little discomfort at the port site, and I have not taken any Tylenol yet. I have to minimize lifting with my left hand (the port’s on the left side) for some time, so I get a guilt-free pass on working in the yard for a while.
When this disease process began, I found the testing and surgery interesting, and I looked forward to what I would learn. Now, however, it is not so interesting. I have grown tired of being poked and cut on. I still like learning about the procedures, but just not as much. As we were sitting in the prep area waiting for me to be wheeled into the operating room, Jana said that she was more anxious than she expected to be, so I guess we are becoming more sensitized than desensitized to medical procedures. Chemo begins tomorrow, and I’ll write a description of that experience when I feel up to it.
David
PS A picture of my port can be found on page 12 of this link http://bardaccess.com/assets/pdfs/brochures/bro-port-family.pdf
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