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- If a vein isn't easily accessible, a temporary plastic tube can be implanted under the skin in the chest or in an
- arm or leg. These catheters, or central lines, as they are called, extend into larger veins. They provide an access
- point either for injections or for the slow drip (continuous infusions) of therapy over hours or even days. All
- kinds of fluids can enter the vein through the catheter—chemotherapy drugs, nutritional formulas, antibiotics,
- blood or platelet transfusions, antinausea drugs or morphine or other painkilling narcotics .
- The catheters avoid any discomfort from vein "sticking" and also any worry about having shots of irritating
- drugs that might leak out into the tissues. They can't be pulled out with an average pull or jerk, so they are
- quite safe. And they are simple to care for. They just need occasional cleaning and changing of the injection cap
- and periodic injections of heparin, a drug that prevents blood clotting in the catheter.
- • Implanted infusion ports Another type of catheter is completely under the skin. It is called a port, and it's
- filled by placing a special needle through the skin into the chamber. The chamber contains a rubber or Silastic
- cover that can be punctured thousands of times with a special needle to deliver therapy, antibiotics or nutrients
- directly into a large vein.
- The advantage of the implanted system is that since it is completely under the skin, no dressings or cleaning
- are needed and care is much simpler. Heparin injections won't be needed so often either. The disadvantage is
- that there is a slight risk of the drug leaking out. Also, a port can occasionally get out of position and become
- more difficult to enter.
