The surgery itself is pretty straightforward. I was put under for the first one, the second one I was given "twilight" meds, meds that make you not care what is going on yet you are still awake, kind of. I have mine near my collar bone on the left side and can honestly say that getting it was the best decision I ever made. PICC's were becoming a nightmare, I kept getting systemic infections despite meticulous care and they were also getting harder to place. And so, I finally said "Uncle" and got the port put in. The site was a bit sore for a few days, kind of bruised but the pain was not major, tylenol or the occasional percocet help with that.
As far as accessing it, I do it myself, every month if I am not using it for IV's to flush it (you must flush it every month to keep the line patent). If you are on IV's, the needle itself needs to be changed every week. I will say with all honesty, it doesn't hurt any more than an IV placement, actually, it hurts less. Once the needle is in, there is absolutely no discomfort what so ever, at least it is that way in my case. Some people request Emla, a numbing cream prior to needle access. I have had my port accessed so many times that quite a bit of scar tissue has formed. I really don't feel it much at all because of that.
The best thing I love about my port is that I no longer have to wait for PICC teams to place my line. If I know I am being admitted, I just access right before I leave. Once I am at the hospital, all they have to do is hang the meds. Soooo much easier!!! Did I say that I LOVE my port??? LOL...
I think that's it for now, if you have any questions, just holler. There are several of us who have ports on this forum.
Hugs, Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">