How To Install Your Own PIC Line - a photo on Flickriver

As some of you may know, I've been battling an ear infection in both ears since back in November of 2007. This problem has affected virtually every aspect of my life due to a partial loss of hearing and almost chronic pain.

Two different doctors attempted to treat the malady with a variety of ear drop medicines, oral antibiotics and pain medication. None of these things solved the problem or stopped the pain.

The week before last, my ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) doctor finally decided to take a culture from matter inside my ear. The analysis of that culture came back early last week. The problem was identified as being a bacteria called Pseudomonas otitidis.

This bacteria is resistant to all drugs specific to treating ear infections.

As a result, I have to undergo intravenous antibiotic injections every 6 hours for the next 2-3 weeks. The drug they'll be using to treat this condition is called Zosyn (Piperacillin).

To avoid having to stick me with a needle every six hours, I went in for an outpatient surgical procedure this afternoon to have a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) (or PIC Line) installed into my upper left arm.

The PIC line is inserted into a peripheral vein, and then advanced through increasingly larger veins, toward the heart until the tip rests in the distal superior vena cava or cavo-atrial junction.

I don't know what that means, but it sure sounds cool.

The PIC line acts as a portal and will be the point of entry for the intravenous administering of the antibiotic.

Anyway, today's procedure to install the PIC line was successful and I'm back home and operating normally, or as normally as one can operate when one can't hear and has near constant pain in one's head.

I'm still waiting to hear back from my doctor as to when the nurse from the home health care service will arrive here to begin to administer the dope...err...drugs.

I'll be posting several photos of today's procedure to this thread in the coming hours/days, as the pain and discomfort allows.

Some of these photos will be graphic. If you're not a fan of trauma-thon-style television shows, you won't like many of these.

I took this first photo as Dr. Ainge was beginning the procedure. He's operating on the inside portion of my left arm.

In his left hand is a wand which is part of an Acuson Cypress ultrasound imaging device manufactured by the company I work for; Siemens.

He's looking at the real-time ultrasound image on a monitor which shows him precisely where the arteries and veins are located in that area of my arm.

In his right hand is a syringe filled with Lidocaine, which is used to numb the area where the PIC line will eventually be inserted.

Here's the Trauma-thon view.

Taken in: United States / Hawaii / Hawaii (show map)

Taken on: May 6, 2008

Tags:

Waimea

Kamuela

Big Island

North Hawaii Community Hospital

Dr. Ainge

PIC Line

Syringe

your fan is having sympathetic vertigo

pseudomonas=fakeMona's?

let's make this the Most Comments on Flickr!

Bill Adams « less

Sets appears in: • BillVille • The PIC Line Drama of 2008

Groups appears in: • FlickrCentral • The Hawaii Connection more » • Big Island, Hawaii • FlickrPeople • Quirky Stuff ! • Kakadoo: PICTURE DIVERSITY • Kama'aina and More (Hawaii) • Hawai'i Life • Photographers of Hawaii « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SD900, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, 7.7mm (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SD900
Lens:	7.7-23.1 mm
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	7.7mm
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Auto, Fired
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
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