Chemo-port For Cancer Patients

Chemoport is a medical device that is implanted into the patient’s body (just under the skin of the chest, most commonly), primarily for chemotherapy. It has a small chamber with a thin tube (catheter) attached to it. This tube enters the vein. The entire device is under your skin and no part of the port is outside.

Chemoport provides a long term and safe access to one of the large veins (blood vessels).

This avoids multiple needle pricks while you are undergoing chemotherapy, which is one of the most important advantages of a Chemoport.

you need to undergo blood tests before and after chemotherapy. Occasionally you may need transfusions, antibiotics and other medicines between your chemotherapy sessions. This means average 3-5 needle pricks in each chemotherapy session.

Many people are averse to needle pricks and some are truly scared of them.

The pain of needle prick may also induce a negative feeling towards chemotherapy which is not desirable.

In the absence of a Chemoport, chemotherapy is given via one of the small veins in your arms.

Multiple Chemotherapy sessions via these small blood vessels have the risk of burning these vessels. This means with each cycle there are less numbers of vessels available for chemotherapy.

There is also a risk of drug spillage outside these vessels which can cause adverse skin reactions.

Both these things leave unsightly scars on the skin.

With Chemoport, all these adverse events can be avoided.

This chamber is placed underneath your skin at a suitable site (usually just below your collar bone). The catheter travels the skin and goes into a large blood vessel. The chamber receives the chemotherapy drug and pushes it into the catheter and the catheter takes it to the blood stream.

To administer chemotherapy a special needle is inserted into the port chamber through which chemotherapy is given.

Chemoport insertion is a surgical procedure. The procedure can be done either in local anesthesia or general anesthesia.

Your neck and chest area is prepped and draped. Under ultrasound guidance one of the chosen veins are punctured and a guide wire is inserted. The position of the guide wire is confirmed on x-ray. This wire guide gives access to the vein.

A pocket is created under the skin of your upper chest (site may vary) to make space for the port chamber.

From this site the catheter end of the port is threaded to the neck or upper chest where we have inserted the guide wire. And the free end of the catheter is inserted into the vein with the help of another peelable sheath.

Do I need anesthesia for this procedure?