Chemo port or an implantable port is a term that is likely to be new to several readers, particularly if they do not hail from a medical background. This article lets you check chemo port prices across different cities in India.
What is a chemo port?
An implantable port or a chemo port is sometimes also known as a port-a-cath. It’s a temporary device that the doctor will insert into a vein, under your skin.
Now, even while this is often called a temporary device, it may be used for years at a stretch, depending on the use case. Typically, a chemo port will go towards the upper chest region, in an area beneath your collarbone.
But, there are several cases where the port is inserted into your arm.
Chemo port is primarily used for two purposes. Firstly, by using a chemo port, it becomes easier to get fluids or drugs in your bloodstream. This is a preferred method over IV, which is the intravenous needle. Similarly, a chemo port is also used to take blood.
So, when you require treatment regularly or over a longer time, your doctor is likely to recommend a chemo port.
What does a chemo port look like?
It is unlikely that an implantable port will be larger than a quarter. The shape is variable. It could be triangular, oval, or round, based on medical requirements. Similarly, a small raised area will be visible and can be felt easily. It is over this area where the port will sit under your skin.
Chemo port price
There are cases wherein the average cost of chemo port becomes an important consideration for patients when treatments are administered to them.
In such cases, the rule of thumb is to do what your doctor tells you to do. The doctor will be committed to the efficiency and safety of the procedure and will be in the best position to decide for you.
Chemo port price in India starts from Rs.15000 & may reach around Rs.30,000.
| City | Cost of Test (INR) |
| Delhi | Rs. 25,000 |
| Chennai | Rs.18000 |
| Ahmedabad | Rs.15,000 |
| Bangalore | Rs.15,000 |
| Hyderabad | Rs.15,000 |
What would be inside an implantable port?
An implantable port will have two parts.
One would be the port that will sit right below the skin’s surface. Fluids will get to your body by flowing through this port.
Septum is the central part of the port which is going to be a raised surface. Towards its edges, the septum is sealed with rubber.
At times, the septum is referred to as the access point.
The second part of the chemo port is the catheter, or simply the cath. The catheter is nothing but a flexible and long pipe that, from the port, goes to one of your larger chest veins.
Once the device has been implanted, it would be alright if it stays in your chest for years at a stretch. After you no longer require the Implantable port, which will be the case when your chemotherapy is through, the doctor will remove the port for you.
Why is an implantable port required?
In case you are getting chemotherapy for cancer treatment, or if you are on other medications, you become the right sort of a use case for using a chemo port. This will allow your doctor to administer IV fluids or medications by using the port.
In case a patient is not using an implantable port, regular needle sticks or shots in veins will become a must. Using a port becomes a more feasible alternative in such cases because it is not as painful as the above-mentioned intravenous methods. Similarly, using a chemo port reduces the odds of the occurrence of infections.
Your doctor is also likely to use the port for collecting blood samples. These will aid with conducting tests. Similarly, the port is going to come to be exceedingly useful in case a blood transfusion is required.
Nutrients, fluids, and IV antibiotics can also be administered by using the port.
Another key advantage that comes with the use of a chemo port is that it empties into a larger vein. So, the odds of bursting or burning smaller veins, which come into the picture when intravenous methods are used, are overcome.
By using the chemo port, a patient can be easily administered round-the-clock medications for some days.
Operation of a chemo port
First, a doctor injects IV fluids or chemotherapy drugs via the port’s septum. Then, via the catheter, the drugs or fluids reach the vein. They are then directly assimilated into the bloodstream.
The procedure for implanting a chemo port
A doctor will implant a chemo port in a patient, based on his medical requirements. This will be done either in the radiology department or an operation theater.
The procedure is conducted under local anesthesia, which makes it painless. Medications are likely to be administered to allow a patient to relax.
The doctor first makes two tiny cuts at the area where the port is supposed to go. Next, he’d create a tiny pocket 2 inches wide under your skin. Via a smaller cut above this pocket, the catheter tube enters your vein.
In the stage that follows, the doctor implants the port. Upon putting the catheter tube inside your vein, the cuts are stitched up.
Then, the patient’s chest X-ray is taken. This lets the doctor be sure that the port is at the right spot.
The entire procedure is unlikely to take over an hour.
How is an implantable port used?
Shortly upon being implanted, the port will be ready for use. So, around 30 minutes before your treatment initiates, you could expect your nurse or doctor to gently rub an anesthetic over the skin that lies right above your port. With the numbing of the skin, you wouldn’t feel anything.
Next, the area is cleaned and disinfected. Now, a Huber needle, which is a special kind of needle, is used for pushing into your skin and into the port. This is a painless procedure.
The area is likely to be covered using a bandage to let it stay clean while the treatment lasts. Upon the completion of the test or therapy, the needle will be removed.
It is only nurses and doctors who should be authorized to give treatment using chemo ports, for being well trained to do so.
