Does anyone have a good name for these "small bore tunneled CVCs" that can be placed into the IJ with a short tunnel, that are 6 or 7 Fr in size? Tim or Ann: What do you call these lines? Especially if they are a PICC that has been trimmed and used in the IJs for patients with no decent vasculature in the arms for a regular PICC??
Our IR Chief feels that if the PICC team refers them a patient where we failed to get the PICC in, they will likely have the same troubles. Bad veins are bad veins. He wants to start putting in these lines when we refer them to IR for a failed PICC insertion. I think it dovetails very well with earlier discussions about all the bad vasculature out there. It's getting to be a real problem.
Our numbers are excellent and we seen to only refer the truly difficult access situations.
