Mediport Care and Management

An implantable mediport is a thin, soft, hollow tube made of plastic.  It is put into a vein in your chest or arm. Implantable mediports (sometimes called portacaths or subcutaneous ports) are a small disc approximately 1-1.5 inches in diameter. They can be used to give chemotherapy or medicine into your vein, or to be given blood. 

Mediport Placement

To place a mediport, a tube is usually tunneled under the skin of your chest or sometimes your arm.  One end of the tube goes into a large vein just above the heart. The other end connects with the port.  This goes under the skin on your upper chest or arm. You will be able to see and feel a small bump underneath your skin.

• Your port will be placed by a physician in one of our procedural rooms.  
• The physician will inject a local anesthetic into your skin to numb a few areas on your chest and neck.  You might feel pressure in this area, but you shouldn’t feel any pain.
• Small incisions, or cuts, are made into your skin.  The port will be placed under the skin. The tube attached to the port will be tunneled under the skin where it will be put into the vein in your chest.  The incisions are then stitched.
• An x-ray is then taken to ensure that the port has been properly placed.
• You will leave the facility with a small dressing to cover the incisions for a day or so after the procedure.

Mediport Management

Mediport Removal

If you would like to schedule an appointment at Preferred Vascular Group to have a consult with a Board-Certified physician or would like to have one of our highly trained care providers reach out to you, please click on a button below: