Admission
Central Venous Catheter Unit
Having a stem cell transplant requires a number of daily blood tests, blood transfusions, intravenous antibiotics, chemotherapy, and nutritional fluids. This requires frequent access to your blood stream. Because we know we will need frequent access and we do not want to give you repeated needle sticks, you will be required to have a hollow plastic tube inserted in a small vein in your neck. This is called a central venous catheter. The catheter will be inserted by a surgical team. In almost all circumstances this is done under local anesthesia, although pain and sedative medications can be given prior to the procedure. This procedure can be done either before your admission to the transplant unit or soon after.
The catheter is first inserted in a small vein in your neck and then into the large vein returning directly to your heart (superior vena cava). The line is then tunneled under the skin to the upper-center of the chest and to the outside.
The catheter will allow your nurse to draw blood and to give you the medications, nutrients, and blood products you will need. Patients usually keep their central catheter in place for approximately 1 to 2 months after the transplant. During your hospital stay, the nurses on the transplant unit will teach you how to care for your line. You will then be prepared to assume full care of your line when you return home.
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