Port a cath is a medical appliance that is used to carry out the chemotherapy treatment without much pain and / or discomfort to the patient. The use of port a cath for chemotherapy has proved to be a favorable choice amongst many patients as it is hassle free and painless. Before the invention of port a cath for chemotherapy treatments, the chemotherapy drugs were passed through a needle stick to the vein. Although the mentioned technique along with other techniques are still followed, using a port for chemotherapy is a much patient-friendly method of administering chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy drugs are often toxic in nature and could damage the skin, tissues and sometimes even veins. The chemotherapy port placement location is also safe. It is placed under the skin of the upper chest and has a reservoir which is connected through a tube or catheter to the vein inside the chest, thus administering chemotherapy drugs into the venous system. Chemotherapy port a cath could be of different types and are also referred to as power ports. In medical terminology, as it accesses the venous system, it is also called Totally Implantable Venous Access System or TIVAS. Central Venous Access Device is an alternative term used for ports in the medical terminology.

Port Placement for Chemotherapy and Port Insertion for Chemotherapy

As mentioned earlier, a port a cath consists of two components, a catheter or a tube and a reservoir or a portal. The reservoir is implanted into the skin in the upper chest and this may appear on the outside as a bump, especially visible in thin patients. The catheter is attached to the internal jugular vein (large vein in the lower area of the neck) through a tunnel and passes over the collar bone in order to reach the large vein in the neck. A port once installed can be used for several chemotherapy sessions as the septum of the reservoir is made of a special rubber.

The procedure of implanting a port a cath is carried out after giving a local anesthetic to the patient with the help of X-ray and ultrasound. To make the procedure of giving anesthetic less painful it is given intravenously. To install a port a cath for chemotherapy, a 3cm long skin incision is made on the chest wall and a 5 mm incision is made in the lower neck that allows the catheter to enter the vein. The chest wound may require stitches however the neck wound usually does not require any.

Port a cath has a variety of uses however in chemotherapy it is used to administer the drugs into the patient’s body and to withdraw blood to carry out other tests. Before using the port a cath for any usage, the skin over the area where it is installed is first sterilized and then the port is punctured through the overlaying skin with a special kind of needle, also referred to as Huber needle. This special needle ensures that it does not damage the septum. The next step involves the drawing out of blood to ensure if the port functions properly and then saline or salt water is used to flush the port. Once this process is carried out to check the functioning of the port, the patient is ready for the chemotherapy treatment. After every procedure, the port is flushed with saline and then diluted heparin is injected to prevent clotting of blood.

Potential Risks and Problems with Power Port Chemotherapy

The risk of installing a port for chemotherapy contains minimalistic risk as it is performed with the aid of the imaging guidance such as X-ray and ultrasound. However, there may be potential risks, not necessarily while performing the installation of the port, but during the port a cath chemotherapy. The only possible but rare cases of port installation could be wound infection, blood vessel injury and bruising. If the port a cath is infected, it may be noticed by any skin changes that appear over the port. One of the common risks of port a cath for chemotherapy is that it could allow bacteria to enter the body and cause serious infection. Clotting of blood in the port is another potential problem but when undertaking the procedure the experts do ensure to flush the port with saline and heparin to eliminate this risk.

Although the above mentioned risks of port a cath for chemotherapy are rare, patients should obtain information on the possibilities and risks of a certain procedure as well. In fact, before agreeing for a treatment procedure, one should clear all the doubts and queries relating to it with the doctor.