A port, short for portacath or subcutaneous (under the skin) port, is a small reservoir that is attached to a catheter, a thin, soft, flexible tube. It is implanted under the skin to allow easy access to veins. They don’t have to find a good vein, because they know the port feeds directly into one. The needle goes through the skin into the port, and the drug goes through the catheter into the vein. It makes it much easier to administer drugs or take blood samples.
When you have cancer they test your blood very frequently to make sure you are okay. Some need chemo infusions every week for twelve weeks, some, like me, get them every three weeks for eighteen weeks. For some of us the infusions don’t end after the chemo. I will be given Herceptin infusions for a total of one year. This will hopefully prevent the cancer from coming back.
Some choose not to have a port placed, but to get a new IV in the arm each time they get an infusion. Sometimes it is difficult to find a vein to use, especially if you get them frequently. This is why I chose to get a port. It makes the infusions less stressful.
Before going to bed on September 12, I changed my bedding, and then followed the instructions how to shower given by the surgeon's team. They had given me a package with a liquid antiseptic soap, an hourglass, two disposable mitts, and instructions how to use them.
After I woke up the following day, September 13, I repeated the shower procedure. We had to be at the hospital at 7:30am. I was nervous, but had read it was a fairly simple procedure with easy recovery.
Some get a local, while others general anesthesia. My surgeon opted to give me monitored anesthesia. This is sort of in between. There is no air tube going down your throat like with a general because you are not completely asleep. The anesthesiologist stays with you the entire time making sure you are okay and making changes as needed.
I cannot remember anything at all from the surgery. This kind of procedure does not take long. I don’t remember what time I was able to leave the hospital, but it was before 11am. I was again grateful for Craig, who drove me there and back as I was not able to drive myself home.
The incision was closed with dissolvable sutures and glue. You can see the glue in two of the pictures below. It was tender, and it was difficult to get comfortable when I was lying down for a few days, but it was an easy surgery and I recovered quickly.
I was now prepared for my first infusion.
Surgery shower packet
This is my port. It has three raised dots so that
the person using it can feel where to insert the needle.
This is how the port works.
The same day as the surgery. Here you can see the glue.
Bruising happens a few days after the surgery. The glue is starting to go away.
This is what the incisions look like today (January 13, 2023),
four months after the surgery. The port is in the red circle.
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