A tunneled catheter is a soft, flexible tube that runs under your skin from a vein in your chest or neck to a large vein near your heart. One end of the tube stays outside the body. This catheter is a type of central vascular access device. You may have it for weeks, months, or longer.
The catheter gives you medicine, blood products, nutrients, or fluids over a long period of time. It makes getting these things more comfortable for you because they are put into the tube. You are not poked with a needle every time. The catheter may be used to draw blood for tests only if another vein, such as in the hand or arm, can't be used. The end of the catheter sometimes has two or three openings. This is so that you can get more than one type of fluid or medicine at a time.
Your doctor will give you medicine to make you sleep or feel relaxed. Two small cuts (incisions) are made in your body. Your doctor will thread the catheter up a vein in your chest or neck.
After the procedure, you will probably have small bandages where the doctor put in the tube and where it comes out of your body. The area may feel sore for a few days. You may have stitches. Sometimes glue is used instead of stitches.
Procedures can be stressful for both your child and you. This information will help you understand what you can expect. And it will help you safely prepare for your child's procedure.
Call 911 anytime you think your child may need emergency care. For example, call if:
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for changes in your child's health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
You've had a procedure to give you a tunneled catheter. The catheter is a soft, flexible tube that runs under your skin, usually from a vein in your chest or neck to a large vein near your heart. You may have it for weeks, months, or longer.
You will now be able to get medicine, blood, nutrients, or other fluids with more comfort. You will not be poked with a needle every time.
You can use the catheter right away. You will be shown how to use it and how to care for it.
Your doctor will tell you how to care for the incision at the insertion site. (It's usually on the neck.) It may have stitches, strips of tape, or a gauze dressing. Your doctor will tell you when the stitches will be removed. The strips of tape will fall off in 3 to 5 days. The gauze dressing can be removed after 2 days.
Your doctor will tell you how to care for the incision on your chest where the catheter is. It will likely have a clear or gauze dressing on it. A clear dressing usually needs to be changed about 2 days after the procedure and then once a week. A gauze dressing needs to be changed 2 or 3 times a week. Also, change the dressing right away if it becomes wet, loose, or dirty.
There may be a small ring, or cuff, under the skin on the catheter. This helps hold the catheter in place.
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