What is a port, and in what situations is a port catheter useful?

The term “port” is used as an abbreviation for a “port catheter.” A port catheter, in turn, is a permanent connection to the patient’s circulatory system used to administer medications or nutritional solutions.

The port consists of a very small plastic tube that is inserted into a larger vein ( the subclavian vein, located below the collarbone) during a minor surgical procedure. This tube is connected to a reservoir that is implanted under the skin. The reservoir has a membrane that can be punctured from the outside—through the skin—using a thin needle.

Medications (or nutritional solutions) can be administered as follows: The infusion solution flows through an external tubing to the infusion needle, which is inserted through the skin and into the reservoir membrane. The infusion solution flows from the reservoir through the internal tubing system into the bloodstream and from there into the body. Port catheters are commonly used for numerous internal medical conditions.

In ALS, ports are used only in exceptional cases. Nutrition via a port catheter is appropriate only when oral feeding or the use of a PEG tube is not possible.