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A portacath is a medical device used to assist with the treatment of ongoing conditions, most commonly cancer. It is composed of two key parts: the portal, which is a small chamber usually made of silicon that is placed just beneath the skin on a patient's chest; and the catheter, which is a flexible, hollow tube that is threaded into the superior vena cava—the vein that leads to the heart. The device's name is a portmanteau of these two parts.
The purpose of a portacath is to provide quick access when administering repeated doses of intravenous (IV) fluid over a prolonged period of time. After numbing the skin over the port, a special needle called a Huber needle can be painlessly inserted directly into the chamber, allowing fluids to be given with ease. This means that in addition to administering chemotherapy, antibiotics and transfusions, portacaths can be used to extract blood samples, making them useful for people whose conditions will require ongoing blood tests...
