Reply To: Vortex Ports

Hey Fred -As Laurel said, I have quite a bit of experience with this stuff. My daughter had a Broviac catheter (similar to your Permcath but with only 1 lumen) for a few months when she was 4 years old. It got infected & then we switched to a port. I believe she had a Port A Cath….not 100% on that though. It’s been so long, lol. Her port lasted from August 31, 2006-April 29, 2011.

Permacath’s are more prone to infection & are usually only used for short periods of time due to that risk. A port is MUCH less likely to get an infection because it is under the skin. As long as your skin in cleaned thoroughly (I requested cleaning with an alcohol swab & then a Chloraprep) and proper sterile technique is used, there is low risk of infection. Make sure your nurse wears a mask & gloves too. The nurse should also put a sterile bandage (usually a Tegaderm) over the port immediately after it is accessed. Basically, just make sure you have a nurse that knows what they are doing & do NOT be afraid to ask questions or speak up if you are concerned.

You can let the nurse know you are “prone to infection” & they should take extra care. Emily got that label, after her Broviac infection, and everyone had to be even more careful while accessing her port because of it.

The surgery to get your port put in is outpatient. You will probably be sore for a few days afterwards & there will probably be some bruising at the site. Find a really good surgeon & ask him/her to use dissolvable stitches. You will be advised to keep the site bandaged & dry for a few days after surgery to prevent infection of the incision. After that the only time it has to be covered is while it is accessed.

Honestly, getting a port for Emily was the very best decision I could have made for her at that time. I highly recommend them if you are having issues with vein access. It made life so much less stressful & her port lasted for nearly 5 years. It would have lasted longer but she grew (doubled in size) and the catheter wasn’t positioned correctly anymore.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Kelly