Mediport Not Flushed for 6 Months

mrspilot

I am posting this because I couldn't find anything online about the experience of a Mediport not being flushed at the recommended interval.  That happened to me--I am a IIA HER2+ bilat. mx in April then had gallbladder surgery in Dec. that interrupted my Herceptin at cycle 10 of 17.  Post-op complications occurred that required long term treatment during which time no one thought about my Mediport being flushed.  The plan is to resume my Herceptin once the surgical complications are resolved.  When I called my Oncologist's RN to say I realized it's been 6 months since the last Heparin flush was done, I was scared she may say it's been far too long or it may be clotted off or otherwise no longer usable because of stuff I had read online.  However, the RN told me not to worry, these Mediports are designed for durability and that it will probably flush just fine--and it did flush without any problem. 

I now have a recurring 8 week appointment to routinely get my Mediport flushed until my Herceptin resumes.  I am posting this in case it may help someone else who may be anxious when realizing it's been longer than recommended for their Heparin flush.  Missing a Heparin flush is certainly not something I would recommend but if it does happen to occur, just call your doc and hopefully everything will work out fine like it did for me.  Then set up your flushes on an appointment schedule so they are not ever subject to being forgotten again!