Long-term outcome of percutaneously implanted port and catheter for hepatic arterial chemoinfusion

We treated 231 patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma by hepatic arterial chemoinfusion through a port. The port was implanted by a percutaneous method without laparotomy. A catheter was inserted via the left axillary artery by a US-guided puncture method, and its tip was placed in the hepatic artery. A port was implanted in a subcutaneous pocket created in the left subclavian region. In this article, we describe the long-term outcome of these arterial access devices. The procedures were successfully carried out in all patients. Large haematomas in four patients (1.7%) and wound infections in three patients (1.3%) were observed as puncture-related complications. The mean period of patency of the devices was 10.4 months. Although we observed dislocation of the catheter tip in 12 patients (5.2%), infection of the device in two patients (0.9%), blockage of the device in six patients (2.6%), and obstruction of the hepatic artery in 26 patients (11.3%) during the observation period, the use of this procedure as an alternative to the surgical method is expected to benefit the quality of life of patients with advanced cancer.