Subclavian Venous Infusion Catheter with Implantable Port

What is placement of a subclavian venous infusion catheter with an implantable port?

Placement of a subclavian venous infusion catheter with an implantable port is a procedure for putting a catheter into the subclavian vein. The subclavian vein is a large vein in the upper part of the chest under the collarbone. The catheter is a thin, soft plastic tube. One end is tunneled under the skin away from the vein to another site just under the skin. The end of the catheter has a reservoir, or port, into which drugs can be injected. The reservoir is a storage space for fluids.

When is it used?

This procedure allows you to get intravenous (IV) drugs without having a needle in your vein.

Examples of alternatives are:

• having the drugs put into a smaller arm vein that is close to the surface of your skin
• having a catheter with the IV line coming out of the skin (an external lumen) (This option would lead to a greater risk of infection.)
• choosing not to have the procedure.

You should ask your health care provider about these choices.

How do I prepare for the procedure?

Plan for your care and recovery after the operation, especially if you are to have general anesthesia. Find someone to drive you home after the surgery.

Follow your health care provider's instructions about not smoking before and after the procedure. Smokers heal more slowly after surgery. They are also more likely to have breathing problems during surgery. For this reason, if you are a smoker, you should quit at least 2 weeks before the procedure. It is best to quit 6 to 8 weeks before surgery. Also, your wounds will heal much better if you do not smoke after the surgery.

Follow any other instructions your provider gives you. If you are to have general anesthesia, eat a light meal, such as soup or salad, the night before the procedure. Do not eat or drink anything after midnight and the morning before the procedure. Do not even drink coffee, tea, or water.

What happens during the procedure?

You will be given a local or a general anesthetic to keep you from feeling pain. A general anesthetic will put you to sleep.

Your provider will make a small cut in your upper chest. Your provider will place one end of the catheter into the vein under your collarbone and tunnel the other end under the skin away from the puncture site. A port will be placed under the skin through another small cut. Your provider will attach the catheter to the port and sew the cuts closed.

What happens after the procedure?

You will have a chest x-ray to check the position of the catheter and to check your lungs.

You will be watched for a few hours while you recover from the anesthetic, and then you may go home. You should avoid strenuous activity for a day. You will have a dressing over the cut for a few days.

You will need to have the catheter for as long as you need injections of medicine.

Ask what other steps you should take and when you should come back for a checkup.

What are the benefits of this procedure?

You will avoid the pain and discomfort of having to have medicine injected into a vein. You can also avoid damage to your veins by needles and strong medicines.

What are the risks associated with this procedure?

• There are some risks when you have general anesthesia. Discuss these risks with your health care provider.
• The local anesthesia may not numb the area quite enough and you may feel some minor discomfort. Also, in rare cases, you may have an allergic reaction to the drug used in this type of anesthesia. Local anesthesia is considered safer than general anesthesia.
• When the catheter is inserted into the vein in your chest, the lining of the lung could be punctured. This could cause the lung to collapse. A collapsed lung would require another procedure under local anesthetic to reexpand the lung.
• As long as the catheter is in place, it may become infected. In that case, the catheter and the port would have to be removed.
• A clot may form around the tip of the catheter in the vein and block it.

You should ask your health care provider how these risks apply to you.

When should I call the health care provider?

Call your provider right away if:

• You develop a fever.
• You become short of breath.
• You develop a red, swollen, or tender area around the implanted reservoir.

Call your provider during office hours if:

• You have questions about the procedure or its result.
• You want to make another appointment.