Port a Cath Placement Procedure
Finally, it was time for my Port a Cath placement procedure. My oncologist needed to wait until they discovered what type of cancer I had. As soon as they gave me my non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis, they put together an action plan. You can read that post here.
The Port a Cath was placed the very same day that the pathology report came back. When it was time for the Port a Cath placement procedure, I was taken down to the O.R. level by wheelchair. From there, I was given an explanation on exactly what would happen, what the risks are, etc.
They explained that I would be given a local anesthetic, so I would be awake during the procedure. They also showed me a sample of what the Port a Cath looked like. It’s actually a very simple device. It’s basically a thin hose with an access port. The hose would be inserted into an vein in the chest, while the access port would sit just under the skin surface, just underneath the collarbone on the right side of my chest.
When it was time to begin the Port a Cath placement procedure, I was taken to an operating table, and given something to numb the area they’d be working on. I couldn’t see what was going on, because they draped a paper cloth over the area and in front of my face. I will say that, the needle felt like it was the size of a chopstick. And, they had to move it around to make sure the entire area was numb.
As the area became numb, I also began to feel kind of woozy. The anesthetic would allow me to remain awake, yet I would not really remember much. What I’m sharing here are just the bits and pieces of what I remember.
They tested the area, to make sure I didn’t feel anything. Then, the doctor made an incision just below the collarbone, and pulled back a few layers of skin. Then, he made an incision in the vein to insert the hose section. Once everything was in place, the skin was folded back in place, and the wound was sealed with disolvable stiches.
That’s pretty much how the procedure went. Again, I don’t remember all the details, since I was pretty doped up. When they where finished placing the Port a Cath, I was taken back to my room. The plan was to start chemotherapy once the wound had time to heal.
That same night, my oncologist put in orders to have me start intrathecal chemo, which goes into the spinal fluid. I’ll talk about that in my next post. It’s pretty interesting how that procedure is performed.
It’s kind of funny that, all my life, I never had any surgeries. And now, I had 2 within a few days of each other (the first being the left orchiectomy). I would soon be ready to start chemotherapy, now that the “Port a Cath placement procedure” was completed.