The sad end of a trusty port
7 weeks ago I tripped at home and broke my leg through the neck of femur. The leg has duly been operated on and literally nailed back together ( I hate to think what airport and other metal scanners will do from here on, but that's some entertainment for the future). The leg is now making a good but slow recovery. However my port is another matter.
It was accessed in the Emergency Department for reasons I no longer recall. I have always been very hesitant about allowing anyone other than the oncology nurses to access it even if they have had the relevant training. Anyway, accessed it was and then it stayed accessed for about 7 days. It was used during that time but I did ask about it a few times, whether the area shôuld be checked and/or cleaned. However as there were no oncology nurses available and the standards said it could stay accessed for 7 days, no one was particularly concerned. Eventually it was taken out and the area around it was quite red and irritated but this was out down to it being covered with the sticky dressing for a week and me being hot. Before it could settle it was accessed again for IV antibiotics. This time it stayed in for 3 or days I think. . When the line was taken out the area was even more irritated and a scab formed over where the needle had been. I said that this had never happened before but again no one seemed too concerned.
4 weeks later it had still not healed. The scab kept coming off and the area was oozing clear fluid. I was prescribed a cream to dress it with and put on antibiotics. Well that cleaned the area up alright. Only problem was it turned it that there was a hole under the scabby area. The hole is refusing to cover over and now it appears that the port is exposed and will have to be replaced. Insult to injury really.
If you have persevered this far I guess I would just like to say, be vigilant if others it side your regular team have to access your port and trust your instincts if you feel things are not quite right and query what is going on.
