Anyone ever have their chest port stop working? It has only been in a month.
I am going to see a general surgeon tomorrow. Will they be able to fix it?
Thanks
Posted by tiredmom21 (Member # 28479) on :
What do you mean by not working? I have had problems with mine getting a blood return and this has been from day one.
They did a port a gram with dye to confirm placement and determined it is fine but sits right against the wall so I have to lie flat to get a blood return.
I have had to use cath flow a couple of times too and it is only six weeks old.
I sure hope u get some answers tomorrow.
Posted by Dogsandcats (Member # 28544) on :
The nurse took the old needle out and was not able to get the new one in so that it just slipped in. She was able to flush it with saline, but not able to get a return.
It started leaking so the other nurse tried and stopped because it hurt and she just couldn't get it to sit right.
It has never hurt before when putting a new needle in.
Posted by Rumigirl (Member # 15091) on :
It sounds like the nurses didn't get it accessed correctly (put the the needle in right). I've had this problem a lot. It all depends on the skill of the nurse. And I've found way too many nurses who aren't good at it.
Demand a nurse who is a top-notch port nurse. And you do have to hammer the agency for this!
Also, some ports are harder to access, or nurses may not be familiar with your kind of port. I have a Bard PowerPort, and few nurses are familiar with this kind of port, so I demand that, too.
Don't settle for inadequate nurses. I've had to pound three different agencies/centers on this issues, after experiencing way too many horror stories with this issue.
Also, call the co that makes your port (your surgeon should have given you a card with the info) and make sure that the Huber needles you are using are the best ones for that particular port.
Let us know what happens. I went through h*** about this for a long time. You will learn how to speak up for yourself---or suffer badly. This can be a life and death issue, so don't shirk on this one. Hard as it is.