Ports or Piccs…and where to put them.

[Kash]

I am going to have a port put in because I have never had great success with IV’s. My LLMD says they put ports in the chest and in the upper arm. Anyone have an opinion on where the port is best placed?

Thanks,
Barb

[Parisa]

Hi Barb,

The decision depends on many factors including how long the doctor is thinking you will need IVs, how active you plan on be, how often you plan on infusing etc. There are some very good posts on Lymenet regarding the pros and cons of each. Here’s a link to a good post:

http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/031004.html

My husband’s LLMD wanted him to have a port but when we talked to the surgeon he told us that for the type of usage we were planning -several infusions every day – he advised a central line. So, my husband had a Groshong central line insalled in his chest. Since it wasn’t in his arm he was able to be active (although he was so sick at that time that the term active is relative) without being impeded by a line in his arm. He used for the central line for over 20 months sucessfully without any problems.

[Author]

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