Saw the surgeon today for my daughter and he prefers the Medi-Port to the PIC line. He went over the pros and cons and we are leaning towards Port. Any opinions?
Thank you,
Deb G
Posted by SuZ-Q (Member # 5903) on :
My daughter had a PICC and a port. The port was far superior. The PICC became infected and had to be removed. It was also a constant bother and made bathing more difficult.
A port can remain in place for up to 5 years. Wish we had not had my daughter's removed. Best of luck to you!
Posted by darla135 (Member # 15688) on :
Do the port!!! Definitely!! I had a picc line that only lasted for 4 weeks despite our best efforts to care for it. In my case, I think the inflammation from the lyme resulted in poor acceptance of the picc line.
I am now on week 4 of the port and thoroughly pleased with my experience so far. It is worth the extra invasion of the body to get it in.
Pray all goes well for your daughter.
Posted by darla135 (Member # 15688) on :
Also, I don't know if your daughter will be taking Rocephin, but if so, just a little advice.
I began having extreme diarrhea with the Rocephin and my doctor was concerned about my developing C-Difficil. Nothing would resolve the problem, even with taking a lot of probiotics.
Finally, I discovered that adding the probiotic strain Sacchromyces Boullardi did the trick. It is helpful in both treating and preventing C-Diff. I take my regular probiotics and then 1-2 capsules of the Sacc. WITH the infusions. The problems literally disappeared overnight after 3 weeks of GI tumult.
Hope this is perhaps helpful.
Posted by Blackstone (Member # 9453) on :
I had a PICC several years ago. Same story as others - eventual infection. PICCs aren't really meant for what many of us are doing - long term use. Even under the best of circumstances, diligent dressing changes and whatnot, you still have two openings for infection. Ports are a "bigger deal" to get inserted, often requiring IV sedation or anesthetic because of the location, but after that, they're less of a bother. Just make sure your infusion people know that you're getting a port - it requires a special needle that has the hole on the side. All infusion people should have these on hand.
In a week or two I'll likely be getting a PassPort, which is a total subdermal port, but positioned in the arm like a PICC, instead of near the clavicle. It can be inserted under local, I'm told.
It pays to have an oncologist buddy!
Posted by minoucat (Member # 5175) on :
Hubby HATED his subdermal port -- it was bulky, and because it had to be used daily the transdermal part was more of a pain than a help (it was developed for people who only had to access it biweekly or less frequently, not for people who had to infuse every day).
After 4 months he ended up with a life-threatening clot around the port -- could have been a reaction to the port, or a problem with that particular brand of rocephin.
No problems with the PICC, except that they all eventually fail and have to be replaced -- but I wouldn't do a PICC on a child long term; his works because he's so careful and so aware of it.
He had a mid-line groshong for a while -- that worked extremely well.
Best of luck.
Posted by Blackstone (Member # 9453) on :
For those that PMed me about the PASport, I'm working on finding a comprehensive information source. I'll post a link when I have one.
Posted by Deb133 (Member # 18544) on :
Thank you to everyone for all the advice. Now we have to make an educated decision on what will work best for our situation.
Good luck to everyone and thanks again.
Deb G
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
deb,
our member, cathy aka TDTID, to dream the impossible dream, has a port and a caring bridge site where she has details galore on this adventure ... the good and bad what she has experienced with no punches. --------------------------
![[group hug]](graemlins/grouphug.gif)