It’s nothing to worry about, and the procedure is painless.

 

A femoral line needs to be in place prior to your stem cell collection, in order to ensure sufficient blood flow to carry out the procedure.

 

A femoral catheter has 2 tubes leading into one, which is placed into your femoral vein, which is located in your groin as shown in the two pictures on the right.

 

The procedure usually takes about 20 minutes, should not be painful as the area is well frozen with local anaesthetic. Complications are rare but, as with any surgical procedure, a certain element of risk is involved. This will be discussed together with your doctor/nurse prior to the procedure.

 

Once in place, the catheter will be well secured with a waterproof dressing. It will remain in place until your stem cell collections are completed (usually 2-3 days)

 

As you will be going home each day with the femoral catheter in place it is important that you are advised regarding its care:-

Keep the area dry  -  No baths or showers whilst the catheter is in place. No strenuous exercise. Avoid periods of prolonged standing. Driving is not advisable whilst the catheter is in place, although I did it without any problem, but the risk is that the line can come out very easily.

Stem Cell Harvesting

 

Nearer the time of the transplant, you will need to have your stem cells harvested and frozen for use later.

 

This is done by inserting a femoral line/catheter as shown on the right, into your groin area.

In the unlikely event of the catheter falling out whilst you are at home, it is important that you are aware of the necessary first aid measures that should be taken:-

 

Press firmly on the area of the bleeding

 

Lie down and maintain pressure until the bleeding stops and for a further 10 minutes

 

Remain lying down for a further hour

 

Contact the hospital for further advice

 

If your femoral line falls out and you are unable to stop the bleeding by pressing firmly, it is important to call a 999 ambulance, rather than trying to contact the hospital

 

When your line is in place, you will be connected up to the machine shown on the right. It’s basically a pump, which filters the stem cells out of your blood, and stores them in a plastic bag for freezing.

 

When the stem cell collections are completed (which can take 3 sessions on the machine), the nurse will remove the femoral catheter and a pressure dressing will be applied to the site. You will be required to remain lying for one hour after the catheter is removed. The dressing can be removed the following day.

 

All in all, it’s a totally painless procedure, except of course for the initial jab to freeze the area, but having gone through all the chemo, we won’t worry about that.

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