Totally implantable venous devices in clinical oncological practice: A single institution experience

Aim. Long-term central venous catheters in cancer patients have become standard procedure for prolonged infusional therapy, for both chemotherapy and supportive care. A wide range of potential complications related to implants procedure and catheter management are described, but their low prevalence allows the increasing use in oncology. Methods. The authors report their single institution experience in 125 consecutive neoplastic patients. Operative procedures for totally implantable venous access device and catheters management are described. Results. The immediate complications were pneumothorax (4%), wound bleeding (1.6%) and incorrect catheter position (0.8%). Late complications included local or systemic infections (4%), vascular thrombosis (3.2%) and catheter permanent occlusion (0.8%). Conclusion. The conclusion is drawn that with long-term usage of totally implantable venous access device the complication rate remains low, making it a safe and well-accepted procedure.