port-a-cath vs. hickman line in women - Asthma Community ...

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port-a-cath vs. hickman line in women

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i have a port a cath now since january of this year. its my second PAC, as the first one flipped over inside me. i was told that this can sometimes happen spontaneously, but that it was made much more worse/likely in my case, as i have extremely large breasts (partly natural, partly weight gain, and partly steroids). i have previously had about 5 or 7 hickman lines, the longest lasting 6 months in 2009. however, about half of these lines had to be removed and replaced prematurely due to infections. my PAC has now once again flipped over. im going to have to do something about it right away, as i have chemotherapy coming up very soon, and am virtually impossible to get a line in peripheral veins anyway (also chemo drugs will damage these small veins). so i was wondering if anyone else had had any of these problems (dislodging, and/or infections). especially women with a similar anatomy problem. what have you found to work best for you? i was supposed to get part of my overlarge breasts removed/reduced in an op next week, but due to gangrene on one of them, it is now almost certainly off. sorry if this is too complicated or explicit?

also, wouldnt a hickman line be easier to access (last time my AandE department had to access my PAC, thry had to ring up the oncology department for instructions, and it took several goes at that, wich is exactly what it is supposed to avoid by being there in the first place...) so if a hickman line would be easier access, i good learn to flush it, maybe even access it on my own (in none emergency situations, obviously).

thanks for any replies, they are all very welcome.

Regards,

Rose

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