A stent is a tiny tube that your doctor can insert into a blocked passageway to keep it open. The stent restores the flow of blood or other fluids, depending on where it’s placed. Stents are made of either metal or plastic.
Does stent placement prior to initiation of chemotherapy reduce stoma formation?
Stent placement prior to initiation of chemotherapy in patients with obstructive, nonoperative left sided tumors is associated with fewer stomas SEMS placement prior to ChT administration dismissed the need of subsequent surgery and decreased the rates of permanent stoma formation.
How is a stent inserted?
There are several ways to insert a stent. Your doctor usually inserts a stent using a minimally invasive procedure. They will make a small incision and use a catheter to guide specialized tools through your blood vessels to reach the area that needs a stent. This incision is usually in the groin or arm.
What is a stent and when is it needed?
Stents are usually needed when plaque blocks a blood vessel. Plaque is made of cholesterol and other substances that attach to the walls of a vessel. You may need a stent during an emergency procedure. An emergency procedure is more common if an artery of the heart called a coronary artery is blocked.
What is the incision for a heart stent?
This incision is usually in the groin or arm. One of those tools may have a camera on the end to help your doctor guide the stent. During the procedure, your doctor may also use an imaging technique called an angiogram to help guide the stent through the vessel.
How do they put a port in your chest for chemo?
The doctor will: make 2 small incisions (cuts), one at the base of your neck and another on your chest about 2 to 3 centimetres below your collarbone. insert the port into the opening on your chest. The doctor then tunnels the catheter under your skin toward the cut at the base of your neck and into your vein.
Is a chemo port painful?
Does it hurt? Not typically, but when it is accessed for chemo or a blood draw, the initial poke does sting a bit (similar to an IV poke in your arm). Over-the-counter or doctor-prescribed numbing creams can help ease the discomfort.
Does a chemo port go into your heart?
Also called port-a-cath. Port-a-cath (Port). A port-a-cath is a device that is usually placed under the skin in the right side of the chest. It is attached to a catheter (a thin, flexible tube) that is threaded into a large vein above the right side of the heart called the superior vena cava.
How long does it take to put a chemo port in?
Your chemo port is implanted during an outpatient procedure, meaning that you don't have to stay in a hospital for the procedure. It usually takes 30-45 minutes. Expect to be awake but medicated to help you relax.
How do you sleep with a chemo port?
If your port is on the right side of your chest, sleep on your left side, or vice versa. You'll want to avoid sleeping on your stomach, at least at first, since you might feel pain at the port site. Try not to sleep with your arm raised on the side of your body that has the port since that could pull on the port.
How soon after chemo do you lose your hair?
Hair usually begins falling out two to four weeks after you start treatment. It could fall out very quickly in clumps or gradually. You'll likely notice accumulations of loose hair on your pillow, in your hairbrush or comb, or in your sink or shower drain. Your scalp may feel tender.
How do you feel after first chemo treatment?
The most commonly reported side effect after receiving chemotherapy is fatigue. 7 Give yourself time for extra rest and sleep in the days after a session. Tell your healthcare provider if your fatigue begins to affect your ability to function or complete basic tasks, like bathing.
What should you not do during chemotherapy?
9 things to avoid during chemotherapy treatmentContact with body fluids after treatment. ... Overextending yourself. ... Infections. ... Large meals. ... Raw or undercooked foods. ... Hard, acidic, or spicy foods. ... Frequent or heavy alcohol consumption. ... Smoking.More items...•
Are you put to sleep for a port placement?
Will I be put to sleep (under anesthesia) during the procedure? No. The port placement procedure is a minimally invasive procedure. You will only receive local anesthesia with some sedation and pain control medication if you need it during the procedure.
Can you shower with a chemo port?
For most people, a port's pretty simple to live with. Once your incision heals, you can shower, swim, and do anything else you feel up to doing. You don't need a bandage on your port when you're not using it, and there's no dressing to change. You don't have to change the way you eat, sleep, or drive, either.
How many rounds of chemo is normal?
During a course of treatment, you usually have around 4 to 8 cycles of treatment. A cycle is the time between one round of treatment until the start of the next. After each round of treatment you have a break, to allow your body to recover.
Does a chemo port require surgery?
Chemo ports are surgically placed under the skin near a large vein in the upper chest. They are typically implanted as a same-day procedure with a local anesthetic that numbs the skin rather than puts you to sleep. They are sometimes placed at the same time as the surgical resection (removal) of a tumor.
How to prepare for a stent?
Preparing for a stent depends on the type of stent being used. For a stent placed in a blood vessel, you’ll usually prepare by taking these steps: 1 Tell your doctor about any drugs, herbs, or supplements you take. 2 Don’t take any drugs that make it harder for your blood to clot, such as aspirin, clopidogrel, ibuprofen, and naproxen. 3 Follow your doctor’s instructions about any other drugs you should stop taking. 4 Quit smoking if you smoke. 5 Inform your doctor of any illnesses, including a common cold or flu. 6 Don’t drink water or any other fluids the night before your surgery. 7 Take any medications your doctor prescribes. 8 Arrive at the hospital with plenty of time to prepare for surgery. 9 Follow any other instructions your doctor gives you.
How to insert a stent?
There are several ways to insert a stent. Your doctor usually inserts a stent using a minimally invasive procedure. They will make a small incision and use a catheter to guide specialized tools through your blood vessels to reach the area that needs a stent. This incision is usually in the groin or arm. One of those tools may have ...
What is a stent in medicine?
What is a stent? A stent is a tiny tube that your doctor can insert into a blocked passageway to keep it open. The stent restores the flow of blood or other fluids, depending on where it’s placed. Stents are made of either metal or plastic. Stent grafts are larger stents used for larger arteries.
Why do you need a stent?
They’ll then place a stent in the artery to keep the vessel open. Stents can also be useful to prevent aneurysms from rupturing in your brain, aorta, or other blood vessels. Besides blood vessels, stents can open any of the following passageways: bile ducts, which are tubes that carry bile to and from digestive organs.
Where is the stent incision?
This incision is usually in the groin or arm. One of those tools may have a camera on the end to help your doctor guide the stent. During the procedure, your doctor may also use an imaging technique called an angiogram to help guide the stent through the vessel. Using the necessary tools, your doctor will locate the broken or blocked vessel ...
What to take for a stent?
For a stent placed in a blood vessel, you’ll usually prepare by taking these steps: Tell your doctor about any drugs, herbs, or supplements you take. Don’t take any drugs that make it harder for your blood to clot, such as aspirin, clopidogrel, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
How to prepare for a syringe surgery?
Inform your doctor of any illnesses, including a common cold or flu. Don’t drink water or any other fluids the night before your surgery. Take any medications your doctor prescribes. Arrive at the hospital with plenty of time to prepare for surgery. Follow any other instructions your doctor gives you.
Coronary stents
Coronary, or heart, stents help keep the arteries leading to the heart muscle open. If people have a buildup of plaque in the arteries, it can reduce blood flow to the heart. This can result in a blood clot, which can block blood flow to the heart and cause a heart attack.
Carotid artery stents
A carotid artery stent can help treat carotid artery disease by opening up the carotid arteries. The carotid arteries are in the neck and allow blood flow to the brain. If plaque builds up in these arteries, it can increase the risk of stroke.
Peripheral vascular stents
The peripheral arteries are present in the legs or arms. A buildup of plaque in these arteries can narrow the arteries and lead to peripheral artery disease. Symptoms of peripheral artery disease include:
Ureteral stents
The ureters are tubes that transport urine to the bladder from the kidneys. A blockage in the ureter can stop urine flow. Ureteral, or kidney, stent placement can help keep the ureter open and allow normal urine flow again.
Prostatic stents
People with an enlarged prostate may require a prostatic stent if other treatments are not effective. Symptoms of an enlarged prostate may include:
Esophageal stents
The esophagus is a tube that connects the throat to the stomach. An esophageal stent helps keep the esophagus open if a health condition is causing a blockage, such as a benign esophageal stricture or esophageal cancer. People may be experiencing:
Biliary stent s
The bile ducts connect the liver to the small intestine to allow bile through, which helps in the digestion of food. If people have a blockage in a bile duct, a biliary stent can help to open it. A biliary stent is usually made of metal or plastic.
What happens if you have a port placed for chemo?
Many people who have a port placed for chemotherapy will develop a thrombosis, or blood clot, in the port or the catheter. This clot may cause the port to stop working, often creating the need for the port to be replaced. 5.
Why do you need a port for chemo?
Some chemotherapy medications can only be given through a port because they are too caustic to be delivered into a peripheral vein. Beyond that, using a port is often easier than inserting an IV each time if you will be having several infusions of chemotherapy.
How many ports are there for chemo?
As with any surgical procedure, there are both advantages and disadvantages to having a chemotherapy port placed. Estimates suggest there are more than 5 million ports placed in the United States each year, so physicians are very familiar with the procedure and it has been well studied. 4. The benefits of having a chemotherapy port compared ...
How to install a port for chemo?
the patient is never rendered unconscious). The procedure begins with disinfection and numbing of the area where the port will be placed (typically the upper chest). Then a large needle is inserted into the chest. This needle is then used as a conduit to allow a catheter (which is a small tube) to be threaded into the superior vena cava. This catheter is attached to the port, which will then remain outside of the body. The needle is then removed and the port is in place.
Why is chemotherapy used for cancer?
It is designed to selectively destroy cells that are very rapidly dividing. Because cancer cells divide more quickly than normal cells, they will be more affected by the chemotherapy.
What happens if you put a port in chemo?
One risk that a port for chemo presents is that it can allow bacteria access to the body, where it can cause a severe infection. Though the risk of this is relatively low, patients receiving chemotherapy are already weakened by the cancer and the treatment, and these infections can be life threatening. The port can also cause the blood around it to clot, which can not only cause blood clots but can also block off the port. This is why every time the port is used it needs to be washed out with saline solution as well as heparin, which is a blood thinning medication. During insertion of the port, there is also a risk of damaging the vein or puncturing the lungs, so the patient needs to be monitored after the procedure.
Can you take chemo orally?
Most chemotherapeutic agents cannot be taken orally because they are either poorly absorbed by the digestive tract, or because the body inactivates them after they are ingested. As a result, many types of chemotherapy drugs are given intravenously.
What is an esophageal stent procedure?
In an esophageal stent procedure, a tube is placed in your esophagus (throat) to keep open a blocked area. The tube helps you swallow solids and liquids.
What happens during an esophageal stent procedure?
Your healthcare provider can let you know what to expect. The details of your procedure may differ somewhat. It will usually take around an hour. In general, you can expect the following:
Why do you need an esophageal stent?
Traditionally, healthcare providers have most often used esophageal stents to treat esophageal cancer. That is still the most common reason. But these stents are also used to treat: Cancer of the top part of the stomach.
What is a stent made of?
The stent is often made of metal or plastic. It will then open up against the wall of the esophagus. After the procedure has been completed, the provider will remove the catheter from your esophagus. The stent will stay in place.
How long do you stay in the hospital after a stent is placed?
Typically, esophageal stent placement is an outpatient procedure. You will stay for a few hours afterward while your vital signs are watched. Make sure someone is there to drive you home. You will need to take it easy for the rest of the day. In other cases, you may need to stay at the hospital overnight.
Where is the stent placed in the esophagus?
During the procedure, the surgeon places a long, thin tube (catheter) down the back of your mouth and into your esophagus. Next, the surgeon places a folded-up hollow tube (stent) over the catheter in the correct position across the blockage. The stent expands against the walls of your esophagus, giving support.
What is the purpose of IV for general anesthesia?
If you are having general anesthesia, medicine will be given through an IV to make you sleep deeply and painlessly.
How is chemo administered?
This is the most common method of chemotherapy administration, since most chemo drugs are easily absorbed through the blood stream. Intravenous administration offers the most rapid absorption time of all currently available methods and the most versatile. IV methods also enable more flexibility with drug dosing. Doses can be given as an IV bolus lasting from a few minutes to a few hours. Continuous infusions can be given over a few days or for weeks at a time. Portable pumps allow medication to be given at a slow continuous rate allowing for on going IV absorption of the medication. Intravenous medications are given directly into the blood stream through a variety of methods.
Where is intraventricular chemo given?
Intraventricular or intrathecal chemotherapy is used when drugs need to reach the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid that is in the brain and spinal cord . The body's blood-brain barrier does not allow many chemotherapy drugs given systemically (through the whole body) to get to the CSF. There are two ways chemotherapy can be given to the CSF:
What is subcutaneous chemo?
Subcutaneous chemo injections are commonly used for some types of biologic response modifiers and chemotherapy support drugs.
Where are catheters placed in the heart?
Tunneled Catheters . Tunneled catheters are placed through the skin in the middle of the chest. They are tunneled through the subcutaneous tissue (the layer of tissue between the skin and muscle) and inserted into the superior vena cava vessel at entrance of the right atrium of the heart. There is a dacron cuff about two inches from the part of the catheter that exits the skin in the chest. Scar tissue forms around the cuff to hold the catheter in place. These catheters are inserted in an outpatient surgical procedure and a special x-ray, called fluoroscopy, must be done to be sure the catheter is in the right place. These catheters can be left in place for months or years with low incidence of infection. Dressing changes and maintenance is required. These catheters can have multiple lumens (entrances) for medications to be infused or for blood to be drawn. A single lumen has one entrance for medications, a double lumen has two entrances and a triple lumen (the most available) has three entrances. These catheters are most often used for extensive chemotherapy regimens such as bone marrow transplant procedures. Tunneled catheters are usually called by their brand names: Broviac, Groshong, and Hickman. The Hickman catheter, like the Broviac cathether, has an open-ended line inside the vein. In contrast, the Groshong catheter has small, valve-like openings in the line's tip.
What is chemocare.com?
Chemocare.com is designed to provide the latest information about chemotherapy to patients and their families, caregivers and friends. For information about the 4th Angel Mentoring Program visit www.4thangel.org
Why can't you give chemotherapy intramuscularly?
Most chemotherapy cannot be given intra-muscularly because of the harshness of the chemical.
Where is the chest tube inserted?
A chest tube is inserted into the pleural space. Any fluid is drained (this may take several days). The chemotherapy is inserted into the chest tube.
How do you give chemo through a port?
This is done with a special needle that goes into an access point within the port. The fluids or medications flow through the catheter and directly into a large vein. Blood can also be drawn this way.
Where is a chemo port inserted?
A chemo port is usually inserted just below your collarbone, or less often, the upper arm. It is about the size of a quarter and creates a small bump under your skin, which can be covered by clothing.
Why do you need a port for chemo?
A chemotherapy port may be an option in this situation to make it easier to draw blood and get chemo drugs and IV fluids into your bloodstream. This article will go into more detail about what a chemotherapy port is, how it’s implanted, as well as the benefits and risks.
What is a chemo port?
What is a chemotherapy port and why is it needed? A chemotherapy port is a small disc or reservoir that can be made of plastic or metal, with a rubber seal at the top. A thin, soft, flexible tube, called a line or catheter, goes from this disc, which faces the outside of your body, directly into a large vein.
How long does it take to remove a dressing from a syringe?
It’s important to follow these directions carefully to avoid an infection or other issues. You can usually remove the dressing after 2 to 3 days and let it air, but you’ll want to keep the incisions covered when you bathe or shower.
What to do if your doctor suggests a port?
If your doctor suggests a chemotherapy port, talk with them about the risks and benefits and what it will mean for your treatment.
How long does it take for steri strips to be removed?
It’s important to leave any Steri-Strips, or butterfly bandages, in place. These can be removed after about 10 to 14 days. For 3 to 5 days after the procedure, you’ll want to avoid lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds.
Where is a chemo port implanted?
Usually, a chemo port is centrally placed under the skin near a large vein in the upper chest. This can be a good alternative to an intravenous (IV) catheter that is peripherally placed in an arm or hand vein (a suitable IV site can sometimes be difficult to find). Easily accessible by a patient’s treatment team, a port can provide a safer and more efficient medication delivery process than an IV. And, while a port will produce a visible, quarter-sized “bump” under the skin, it can be easily covered with regular clothing.
What is a chemo port?
A chemo port is a small, implantable reservoir with a thin silicone tube that attaches to a vein. The main advantage of this vein-access device is that chemotherapy medications can be delivered directly into the port rather than a vein, eliminating the need for needle sticks. Many people who receive chemotherapy choose to have a port implanted ...
How long can a chemo port remain in place?
Unlike an IV catheter, which must be reinserted for each treatment session, a port can remain in place as long as necessary – for several weeks, months or even years. When it is no longer needed, the port can be removed through a relatively simple outpatient procedure.
Can you have a port implanted for chemo?
Many people who receive chemotherapy choose to have a port implanted if recommended by their treatment team. If you’re interested in a chemo port, consider this information provided by the infusion center team at Moffitt Cancer Center.
Port Use in Chemotherapy
How A Chemo Port Is Implanted
Advantages
- As with any surgical procedure, there are advantages and disadvantages to having a chemo port. The benefits include: 1. Increased comfort: With a chemo port, an IV needle is inserted into the reservoir through a thin rubbery membrane called the septum. You may feel initial pressure but little pain. 2. Reduced risk of extravasation: When a traditional IV is used, chemo drugs may extravasate (leak) and damage surrounding tissues. A chemo port reduc…
Disadvantages
- Chemotherapy ports may seem like a "no-brainer," but they have their limitations and risks. They include: 1. Risk of infection: While the risk is relatively low, it can occur. Research suggests that around 2% of chemo ports need to be replaced due to an infection.4 2. Risk of thrombosis: Many people with a chemo port will develop a blood clot (thrombosis) which can block the catheter. The blockage can often be unblocked with an injection of the blood-t…
Avoiding Complications
- As infrequent as infections are with chemo pumps, they do occur. In severe cases, this can lead to a potentially life-threatening, whole-body infection known as septicemia.4 Flushing the catheter with an antibiotic and heparin solution appears to significantly reduce the risk of infection.4Cleansing the skin also does not appear to help. However, if there are signs of a local infection, dressings impregnated with antibiotics may be used along with or…
Summary
- A chemotherapy port is a device implanted under the skin to deliver chemo drugs to a large vein in the upper chest. The port is usually implanted as a same-day surgical procedure under local anesthesia. A chemo port reduces the need for repeated needle sticks during chemo. The port is largely invisible under clothes and can be submerged under water...
A Word from Verywell
- Having a chemo port implanted is often the first step in chemotherapy. Since it involves minor surgery, there are risks you need to consider. It is important to talk with your oncologist about the pros and cons of a chemo port—and how you'll need to care for it—before you make an informed decision about the procedure.