Vascular Access (Port/PICC/HD)

What is a vascular access procedure?

Vascular access procedures are intended to provide long-term access for drawing blood or delivering medications directly into your bloodstream for an extended period of time. The most common reasons men and women choose vascular access procedures include:

  • Intravenous antibiotic treatments
  • Chemotherapy
  • Long-term feeding or nutritional support
  • Repeated need to have blood drawn
  • Kidney dialysis
  • Inability to swallow medications
  • Helping children receive medications and treatments more easily

Q&A

What can I expect during the vascular access procedure?

During the process, one of the board-certified interventional radiologists at Excel Medical Imaging inserts a catheter (a flexible, sterile, plastic tube) into your blood vessel. Interventional radiologists are specially trained physicians who use fluoroscopy (moving X-rays) to view the catheter as they carefully place it in your vein.

After the procedure, the catheter remains under your skin. The procedure is minimally invasive, does not require a hospital stay, and the recovery time is relatively short.

What types of vascular access options do I have?

There are several vascular access options, including non-tunneled catheters for larger veins, tunneled catheters that form a tunnel under your skin, and implantable port catheters that are placed completely under your skin. The advantage of the implantable port is that there are no hanging catheters outside your skin and no IV access points.

The interventional radiologists at Excel Medical Imaging perform vascular access implanted port procedures as same-day, outpatient procedures, so you won’t need a lengthy hospital stay. Since it is entirely below your skin, the implantable port offers a lower risk of infection than other long-term vascular access devices.

What can I expect after I get an implantable port?

Implantable vascular access ports allow you to engage fully in your lifestyle — including swimming — typically in as little as four weeks after the procedure. The ports are durable and capable of lasting through as many as 2,000 uses.

The highly skilled medical team at Excel Medical Imaging in New Port Richey, Florida, invites you to learn more about this time- and money-saving vascular access option. Call or schedule an appointment online today.