[eveParticipant]

Hi Everyone
One quick question,Slims has had his Hickman Line in since the 24 of April,which I have to say is very handy for taking bloods,It took over 4 hours to get in,and now I am wondering when it will come out!!!!:-S

I noticed on David,s Musing his was taken out before he left hospital,!!!
Can any one tell me when there,s came out.:-P Eve

[wendyduffieldParticipant]

Hi Eve,

mine was taken out about a week after I came out of hospital. They would have taken it out on the last day of my stay but there was no doctor available to do it. It was only put in on the day of my admission for the transplant. I think my hospital like them in for as little time as possible because of risk of infection.

Wendy

[eveParticipant]

Hi Wendy

Well this has got me thinking,!!!
Slims was put in on the 24 April,then my |Grandson passed away,so he came out of hospital and was readmitted on the 13 may,and came out on the 1 of June.

Officially he is under Kings for 100 days but having bloods and platelets at local hospital.
We have been back to kings to see consultant,but did not think to ask about line as did not know when it would come out!!!Not due back at Kings for 2 months.

But will not be officially under his consultant at Canterbury until he is discharged from Kings.

As the line took a long time to get in (4hr) I was wondering how this would effect it coming out,plus when.
I just thought everyone had the line in,the same as Slim,another learning curve on the way. Eve

[tomParticipant]

Hi Eve and Slim

Well I had a "Femoral" Line fitted and had it taken out on day 15 the day before I came home and all my bloods were OK, That said I was going to Castle Hill every week till my 100th day and some folk had the Hickman line in most of the 100 days that I attended? never thoght about asking why that thing stuck out the top was doing still attached Lol.

Hope you are Both Doing good

Love
Tom "Onwards and Upwards" xx

[wendyduffieldParticipant]

Hi Eve

I suppose if Slim is still having bloods and platelets it makes sense to keep it in rather than cannulating every time. I hope it doesnt take 4 hours to come out. Mine took about 45 mins to an hour to come out. It is not as horrible as having it put in and such a relief to get it out.

Wendy

[DaiCroParticipant]

Hi Eve,

They left mine in for four weeks… at my first consultation after leaving hospital. I asked why then and was told that it was redundant… that they only left the line in if it was still in regular use. It took about twenty painless minutes from going in to the side room in the Daycase Unit with a doctor to coming out. The procedure wasn't flagged, i.e. we had no idea that they were going to take it out and Janet was surprised to see me back the waiting room after 30 minutes… expecting me to have to go up to Radiology (where they put it in) for the procedure.8-)

It sounds as if Slim's is still in regular use, so I imagine that is why he still has it in… handy though.:-)

My original line became infected and one line became blocked… they used the single line for three days until I complained that it was stinging when the saline was going through. My consultant came up to see me and injected some anti-biotc into the working line.. only for Janet to shout 'Stop'… which made my consultant jump… Janet pointed out that my skin was expanding under the line… and she was right… there was a reservoir of liquid floating under my chest… one line was blocked and the other was leaking. My consultant stopped its use and said that they would have to replace the line.:-S

It took three days before they could find a doctor able to carry out the 'one out/one in' procedure. Three days of which I was Neutropenic and feeling as ill as I have ever felt in my life. I will never forget sitting in a wheelchair in the waiting room outside the radiology theatre… piled with blankets and shivering uncontrollably. The tremors were so bad that I could not talk properly. Eventually they got me into the theatre and they carried out the procedure… I recall two of the theatre nurses arguing with the doctor that I was 'to ill'… but he wanted to persevere, saying that I would stay neutropenic until they took out the offending line. He was right… and within the hour I felt great and I was sitting up in bed eating chicken curry. In the meantime I had lost the window for my harvest and it would take another ten weeks before the wired me up again.;-)

All I felt when the doctor took out my line was a couple of tugs but as I said, completely painless.8-)

Dai.

[eveParticipant]

Thank you all
You have eased my mind,and my daughter tells me they will be able to take it out in Canterbury,so no long journey back to Kings.

I was worried about it coming out,as Slim had such a bad time of it going in,he said no way were they going to replace this one if it became infected,:-( It seems his vein thinned out and they had to take it round a bend,causing a lot of pain.

All three tubes are OK so it must be because of needing platelets.
Thanks for all your help.Eve

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