Re: For or anyone else who's had one - PTC info

[Guest guest]

gave a great description of the procedure. I only have to add

that the first one of these for each tube inserted (I had three bile

ducts to open up post-tx) did hurt quite a bit. They gave me some

versed and fentanyl prior to the procedures so that I would be relaxed

and groggy. After the initial insertions, the follow-up procedures (for

moving or changing the tubes) weren't bad at all. It was kinda like

getting a piercing and then having your body get used to it. Unlike

ERCP's, you don't have the pancreatitis issues, so my pain was much

less than the ERCPs that I'd had before tx.

Oh, and I had infections all the time. I was in and out of the hospital

quite a bit with that. The holes themselves never got infected, but the

bile ducts did. What was great was that they could sample the bile and

determine which organism was the problem and target an antibiotic to

treat it.

HTH,

Deb in VA

[Guest guest]

I agree with and Deb's decriptions of the PTC stenting/drain

procedure. I had a PTC drain placed in November of 2002, after

cholangitis attacks with fevers started to occur shortly after being

diagnosed with recurrent PSC. For two weeks the bile was drained into

a bag. Since then, the tube, which enters between my ribs on my right

side, has been capped off. I flush it once a day with 5 ml of saline

solution injected through the cap. I have the tube changed every 6 to

10 weeks, so in the little over four years that I have had it there

have been many tube changes. I get an IV antibiotic prior to each tube

change but no other drugs, so I don't need a driver to accompany me to

the procedure.

The drain had kept me fever free for four years, but recently I have

had some fever episodes. I believe this is due to further blockages

for which the PTC tube does not provide drainage.

Tim R, ltx 4/4/98, recurrent PSC 2002