Biofilms that develop on indwelling devices are a major concern in clinical settings. While removal of colonized devices remains the most frequent strategy for avoiding device-related complications, antibiotic lock therapy constitutes an adjunct therapy for catheter-related infection. However, currently used antibiotic lock solutions are not fully effective against biofilms, thus warranting a s...

Totally Implantable Central Venous Access Devices (Intraports) are commonly used in cancer patients to administer chemotherapy or parenteral nutrition. These devices are placed by Seldinger technique. We report an unusual case of intraport catheter rupture before the use of the device. The ruptured part of the catheter migrated into the left pulmonary vein via right ventricle. The ruptured part...

OBJECTIVE We report our initial experience with our newly developed percutaneous right-ventricular assist device (VAD) with CentriMag (perc CM-RVAD). METHODS A flexible outflow cannula placed from the right internal jugular vein to the pulmonary artery and an inflow cannula placed from the femoral vein to the right atrium constituted the perc CM-RVAD. When needed, biventricular support was pr...

BACKGROUND Totally Implantable Venous Access Port Systems (TIVAPS) are widely used in oncology, but complications are frequent, sometimes necessitating device removal and consequently delays in chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate possible risk factors for morbidity. METHODS A total of 815 consecutive cancer patients (median age: 56.2 years [0.8-85.2]; 522 female) were enrol...

implantable ports are used for intravenous infusion therapy and play an important role in management of oncology patients. these ports are best suited for patients requiring long-term therapy (>4 weeks). implanted ports provide reliable venous access protect peripheral access increase patients’ comfort through reducing repeated and difficult vein punctures allow for safe and comfortable adminis...

In 2013, Rostami et al. proposed a pairing protocol to authenticate device programmers to Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs) based on (lightweight) public-key cryptography and a commitment scheme. Their solution is built upon “touch-to-access”, a novel access-control policy where a device programmer can access an IMD only if it can touch the patient’s skin to measure his heart rate. In this pap...

BACKGROUND Vascular access devices placed into the central venous system are used routinely in the medical management of many patients. Catheter tip occlusion is a common complication of open-ended catheters, causing difficulty with blood withdrawal and infusion. This study evaluated whether a valved subcutaneous port system would have fewer associated complications than a standard nonvalved po...

The use of totally implantable venous catheters is necessary for drug and chemotherapy delivery, blood infusion, hemoderivatives, and parenteral nutrition (PN). However, its use is not free from complications.1 Among these, the rupture of the device is a rare and dreaded complication that can result either from improper handling or instrumentation as the inappropriate choice of the insertion si...

Introduction The intracardiac electronic device implantation rate has been constantly increasing for the last 20 years and is accompanied by an increasing lead extraction rate. Percutaneous extraction of transvenous leads of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices is mandatory in the case of pocket infection and/or system infection, resulting in valvular or lead endocarditis. Lead extract...

In patients with complete venous occlusion requiring venous access for cardiac device lead placement, venous revascularization is a viable option. A percutaneous approach to venous revascularization has gained popularity. This method reduces patient exposure to more invasive therapies. In this case series, we describe two cases of a total venous occlusion that were successfully revascularized u...