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Medical Advise on procedure: Catheter

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by Jay, Oct 21, 2010.

  1. Jay

    Jay
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    Hi! =)

    I am in a postion where I need to get all the medical advise possible, so I thought asking here so Mr. Kara can give me a quick overview on what could be done.

    My dad: he's 85, suffers from low blood pressure, stomach pains, a *lot* of gas problems in the stomach and intestines. He had a surgery when he was 29 since he had an ulcer in the stomach. Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, good diet.

    We had to rush him to the ER yesterday because of, what seems to be, a sudden blood pressure slump which led into him having anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, vomits, and to a certain extent diarrhea.

    Now the Docs are telling me that they want my authorization to use a procedure on him called Central Venous or something like that, dunno the medical term in English, but what the Doc explained to me is that they introduce in a main vein a catheter that is allocated in the heart which will be dosing the medicine and other things they need to give my dad and will also allow them to have a more accurate reading on what is going on.

    They talked little about the risks, the only one they told me is that a lung could be pinched and, according to the Doc, is the biggest risk but it still has a low percentage of probability.

    My question is, is it really necessary? What are other rinks that could happen? Can the heart or veins be damaged severely to a point that my dad has to be in the Hospital for a long time?
     
  2. Revan

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    I think you should really talk with the doctors. I mean you need help deciding and they need to provide that help. Since your father is 85 he is quite old and the body at 85 when it comes to operations handles things a lot differently than a body that's 45 or 65. So I definitely think you should talk to your doctors, and best of luck to your father and yourself. I hope everything goes well...
     
  3. EM68

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    I would let the doctors do it. I think you are talking about a central line so drugs will go straight to the heart. If he has been in the hospital a lot and has had a number of IV's then it might be hard for them to find a clear vein.

    Hope your dad feels better soon! (*hug*)(*hug*)
     
  4. KaraBulut

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    There's several things that this could be but I'm guessing that because of your father's condition and age, they need access to a large vein to administer medications. It's called a central venous catheter or a triple lumen cathether. It's typically inserted into a vein under the collarbone or in the neck.

    We usually do these types of lines when there's a medication that is a little too strong to give in the veins in the arm or sometimes in elderly people, their veins are so fragile that it's difficult to keep a good IV line working in the arms.

    If the physician is experienced, it's a safe procedure. There's usually a chest xray that is done afterward to check for proper placement before the medications are administered. The line will stay in for as long as the patient needs the medications. It is usually removed after a few days.

    You can read about this type of line here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_venous_catheter

    The other possibilities are a Swan-Ganz catheter which is a catheter similar to a central venous catheter however this catheter is primarily used to measure pressures in and around the heart. It can be used for medications but primarily it measures the functioning of the heart and allows medications to be adminstered and adjusted to lessen the work of the heart or to ensure that the patient is properly hydrated.

    You can read about the Swan-Ganz catheter under the topic pulmonary artery catheters here:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_artery_catheter

    The articles discuss the most common complication- which is an accident puncture of the lung during the insertion process. It's a rare complication and in 20 years, I've only seen it happen once. But we generally mention this as a possibility but with an experienced physician or nurse, this should not happen.
     
    #4 KaraBulut, Oct 21, 2010
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2010
  5. Jay

    Jay
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    Thanks a lot guys, especially Kara =D

    I spoke to both my uncle and my aunt, the closest siblings to my dad out of the other 7 he has, and they both disagreed on allowing such procedure. Doctors here in El Salvador are not the most trustworthy. I know that sounds diminishing and it might state that our doctors are less qualified or capable, but they sort of are... :S

    We did not want to take any risk of any of those complications because my dad is this elderly and has a better than usual health than most 85 years old. He has been to the hospital just three times in his life, once when he had the ulcer and the two other times within the last three years.

    An update: I went to see my dad today and he was way better. Blood pressure was stable and within the acceptable margins, he ate which is great, and he was very very happy and positive.