Femoral Placement of Totally Implantable Venous Access Ports in Patients with Bilateral Breast Cancer

Purpose: Aim of this study was to determine the rate of complications following femoral placement of totally implantable venous access ports (f-TIVAP) in women with bilateral breast cancer, with a special focus on long-term function, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and port infection. Methods: 73 patients with bilateral breast cancer treated between October 2000 and January 2013 with placement of an f-TIVAP using a transfemoral approach were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were followed up, and all complications of f-TIVAP were recorded. Results: The median age was 62.5 years (range: 35-86 years). Four patients received f-TIVAP under local anesthesia, and 69 underwent placement under general anesthesia. Mean follow-up was 33.7 months (SD 25.9; range: 0.2-93.5 months). Complications over the entire period of observation included infections in 21 %, DVT in 19 % and catheter occlusion in 12 %. Patients receiving chemotherapy who developed leukopenia were more likely to experience DVT at the access site (p = 0.037). There was a trend towards a higher infection rate when the device was used more often (p = 0.084). Conclusion: Although the rates of complications in the longer term, especially device infections and DVTs, appeared to be relatively high, TIVAP implantation using femoral vein access is recommended in patients with bilateral breast cancer not suitable for cephalic vein cut-down.