erie774

My wife had her band almost a year. She's been doing OK so far. About 5 weeks ago she went for a fill under flouro and she said that the port really hurt afterwards. Since then the port has been hurting terribly, to the point where it takes her breath away or makes her pant. She soon noticed the port appeared to be tilted (the skin is stretched and it really looks like it is sideways). She went back to the doc who said that it looked OK under flouro and she could maybe consider pain management. He thought about putting her on Celebrex and gave her Vicodin and sent her home. He said she should watch out for it turning red because that would mean infection. Now she is dealing with pain almost constantly, the Vicodin backs it off but not completely. Has anyone else experienced port pain like this? What can be done to reseat the port if it is tilted? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You've got that right! Anyway, she is home and is seeing a wound therapy group who will help her to heal. Best thing is the pain level has dropped dramatically since the port was removed (she is only experiencing incisional pain but that is a very low level).

The doc removed her port today. There was an abcess above the port so it had to be removed. He drained the band and tied off the tubing. He said that it was "possible" that the needle might have nicked a blood vessel which would cause a hematoma (bruise) which created a pool where an infection could settle. He never said it might have been something he did; he blamed the needle. Anyway, he had to leave the wound open (if he closed it he would have sealed the infection inside) and sent her home on antibiotics. After the wound heals she can go back and have a new port put in on the other side.

Here's the update: Monday night her friend took her to the emergency room because the port was red, warm and hurt to the touch (I couldn't take her because I was in the hospital recovering from back surgery). The ER doc said that the site looked infected and admitted her. Her bariatric doc came by in the morning and they ran a CAT which showed only some infection around the port. The band appeared OK. They have her on antibiotics to deal with the infection. Her bariatric doc said that this kind of infection could only have been introduced into the port site but wouldn't acept the possibility that it could have happened during his last fill. He said that if she responds to the anitbiotics before tomorrow morning and the infection shrinks that he should bo thave to remove the port. If there is no change he will remove theport.

My wife is experiencing major port pain and it appears to have flipped. Is your port site red or hot?