PTC Drain Issues

Discussion Board Forums General Discussion PTC Drain Issues

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #94244
    karend
    Spectator

    #94245
    marions
    Moderator

    Minzzi……so sorry to hear of the complications with the drain. I will forward your posting to Karen, our oncology nurse, for answers to your questions.

    Hugs
    Marion

    #13083
    minzzi
    Spectator

    Hi,
    My spouse has been fighting ICC for now nearly 3 years and last month they decided to place an external/internal ptc drain after a failed ERCP attempt (or more precisely a stent cleaning procedure which did not take his bilirubins down). Right from the start he had issues with it as it was leaking something (I have to assume it is bile) from outside the drain tube with fairly regular flushing difficulties also (blocked drain?).

    He was instructed to flush twice daily but it did not seem to affect the leaking. Last Monday after going to the ER twice already he was finally scheduled for a check up procedure where they eventually changed the drain tube. It had been clogged up and also as the stitch holding it in place had come off so the tube moved freely especially if he breathed deeply.
    The drain has been causing a lot of pain which does not seem to subside with any pain medicine.
    I took him to the ER again today but they discharged him after a few hours with no explanations even though he is in pain.

    Also the bile flowing to the bag which is attached most of the time seems to change colour and is occasionally quite red (blood?) and at times pale yellow or brown. When he drinks fresh vegetable juices with lots of green veggies it turns green, so what has been also puzzling is that how can the drain tube be blocked (i.e. flushing is difficult because of resistance and pressure) at the same time food /drink seems to flow back into the liver and to the drain bag? We have asked this numerous times but no doctor or nurse seems to be a) bothered b) able to explain why it is happening and c) if something should be done about it..

    So we would be very grateful for any assistance and/or similar stories..

    Thanks!

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • The forum ‘General Discussion’ is closed to new topics and replies.