Implantable central venous access system.

Prolonged central venous access for outpatient chemotherapy was achieved in 74 patients utilizing a totally implantable access disc system. The system consists of a stainless steel drug reservoir implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of the anterior chest wall. The reservoir is attached to a Silastic catheter which is then tunneled to a central vein and positioned in the superior vena cava. In 6,762 patient days of observation, there was a high degree of patient acceptance and a low incidence of complications. There were four instances of thrombosis and two of catheter-related sepsis among 17 complications. Seven access discs required removal. The implantable nature of this system offers an attractive alternative to other available methods of prolonged central venous access.