Interventional radiologic placement of chest wall ports: results and complications in 161 consecutive placements

To review the technical results and long-term follow-up of the first 157 consecutive patients undergoing placement of 161 chest wall ports at the authors' institution.

All ports were placed in the interventional radiology suite with use of fluoroscopic and/or ultrasound guidance with a combination of standard interventional radiology and surgical techniques. The hospital records of all patients were reviewed, and telephone contact made when possible. Patients ranged in age from 21 to 87 years (average, 57 years). The most common indication for port placement was chemotherapy (88%).

Placement was technically successful in all 161 procedures. Minor procedural complications occurred in eight patients (5%). There were no major complications related to the procedure. Cumulative follow-up to date includes 35,992 port-days (average, 226 days per patient). The long-term complication rate was 8.7% or .39 per 1,000 access days, which includes nine infections and five migration-related complications.

Interventional radiologic placement of chest wall ports is safe and has a high technical success rate, in large part due to the integration of interventional radiology techniques to the procedure. The short and long-term complication rates are equal to or less than those of current surgical series.