Crappy Veins? = Chest Port Being Fitted (and Removed)

My veins weren't great at the best of times but chemotherapy had shut them down. Putting in cannulas each session was becoming more and more painful as the nurses struggled to find a “decent one”. 

We discussed having a port fitted into my chest. It has a squishy area that the needle from the cannula goes in (about the size of a 10 pence piece). A tube would run into a good vein in my neck. The whole device would sit just under my skin and would stay in place until my final treatment had ended.

Time To Pop The Port In

Before I could have the port fitted, I needed to have blood taken. I also had swabs on my groin and up my nose to check for MRSA. I had to wash my nose out with a solution for a few days before to get rid of any potential MRSA. Essentially I was having a small surgery.

The day arrived. My hubby and I travelled to Manchester Christie Hospital. 

I was called in to see a doctor who was doing the procedure. I signed the consent form. She injected anaesthetic into the right side of my chest, just under my collar bone. When the area was numb, she made two incisions. One on my chest and a smaller one near my neck. In the smaller incision she fed a soft tube down a strong vein in my neck and chest. In the larger incision she made a pocket under my skin where she inserted what I can only describe as what looked like a dabber that you would use in a game of bingo! This was the port. They were then connected up to each other and I was stitched back up. It took about 45 minutes.

The doctor attached an external cannula to the port and took bloods from it ready to be processed before chemo could go ahead the next day. It was so much easier! The doctor left this external cannula in place so it didn't disturb my stitches. Once I've had my chemo treatment from it the following day my chemo nurse would take it out. I was left with dressings for a week and in seven days would be all healed up. Yay!

And they were right! The stitches were off in the seven

days. I was all healed apart from some bruising and the port was secured under my skin. A weird little lump that changed the world of chemo for me.

Every Tuesday (the day before my chemotherapy session), I would visit my chemo nurses where they would put in the cannula and take my blood from it. It was a sharp scratch but that was it. It was easy every time. They would then leave it in place overnight and hook up my chemo drugs to it the next day.

The port just stayed there, under my skin. It didn't move about. Just a weird little lump that changed the next few months for me. No more worries about the nurses being able to find a vein or not.

Taking The Port Out

Due to the complications I had with the different chemotherapy drugs, it was five months before I was able to have my port removed. I went back to the same hospital where I had it put in. The procedure was really quick. I was in and out in about ten minutes. She opened up the bigger incision and pulled the port and soft tube out in one quick pull. It looked like a little mouse had been just under my skin. It was truly a godsend, but I wasn’t sad to see it go.

I had three stitches covered with a waterproof dressing for a week, and then it would be all healed. 

I have two scars from where the incisions were made. A tiny reminder of how my life changed and how this little device made the chemotherapy experience a little easier.

If you are due to have one fitted, don't worry. It's not painful to have. It doesn't move. It just sits there happily under your skin. It does look a bit like there is an alien about to burst out from under your skin but you can easily hide it with clothing or show it off and be proud of it! The main thing is, it's a game changer if you're struggling to find a good vein to use. So I wish you good luck, but you won't need it. You'll be just fine.

JuJu