Nerve and throat pain after port surgery

llft

I had my port surgery over a week ago. My throat inside and on my neck is sore. My upper right back is sore with shooting nerve pain down to my elbow. When I raise my hand above my shoulder then I have pain from my elbow to my wrist.

Does anyone have a solution for the throat pain or nerve pain? I can't lay on my back for a minute let alone the 30 minutes necessary for my PET scan in 3 days.

Thoughts? Solutions?

TFitz22

Hi Lift,

I am new to the site and new to colorectal cancer having just been diagnosed in the last two weeks, so I’m no expert here. I’m sorry for both of us so we had to meet on this journey!

Like you, I had a port placed about a week and a half ago and was experiencing pain down my arm from it, just a general heaviness, deep pain. Of course, my primary concern was blood clots as I was scheduled for a colectomy a few days later. I visited with my oncologist and she she flushed and checked the port for me, ruling out the possibility of a blood clot, which put my mind at ease, but the pain persisted. They theorized that the pain was caused by my arm placement during surgery to implant it, and it would go away over time, which I am happy to report it did. But I can share with you a few things I learned from this experience.

I sought advice from others, who have been through the same ordeal, and they said that it’s possible the port could be resting on a nerve and suggested I reach out to the doc who performed the surgery and they could take an x-ray to check the placement. That’s what you should do if you haven’t already.

They also mentioned a correlation to having the port installed in the same arm you have COVID shots and potential blood clotting issues which is something to keep in mind that I just learned and will be aware of on this journey. They said many oncs are prescribing baby aspirin on infusion days as a precaution- who knew?

I hope like me you get some relief with time - God knows you don’t need another problem right now!

Stay strong and wishing you well 💕

Tracey

llft

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1704122#Comment_1704122

Tracey,

Thank you for the response. What happened once they took the xray and saw the port was on a nerve? What action did they take?

I suspect the port is touching a nerve or they nicked a nerve while placing the wire down through my neck. I have talked to the doctor he says just wait. It will be 2 weeks in 2 more days and it is preventing me from sleeping, it hurts when I type on a computer for work and it basically affects most things I do.

Good luck with your colectomy. I had an right colectomy at the beginning of January. I was surprised they gave you your port before removing the cancer. I still don't have a treatment plan yet. All of this takes longer than I had suspected. My main issue now is resolving the nerve pain. I can't live like this for 7 months until the chemo is done.

TFitz22

Hi again, I’m sorry I wasn’t clear in my previous post….the pain I was experiencing was not from nerve pain apparently as it resolved on its own following my surgery last Thursday and is feeling much better, thankfully. I suspect it was from positioning of the arm during surgery.

The pain you’re experiencing sounds just awful and I can’t believe you are able to get through a day or night, let alone work! I would press your surgeon to take an X-ray to see what the issue is so they can get it resolved for you. I hope it’s an easy fix and you can move on to the next battle.

beaumontdave

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326266/nerve-and-throat-pain-after-port-surgery

I had different issues with my port, they set it by my collar bone. It had no nerve issues, but a couple months in, clogged at the Vena Cava. To strip it, they ran a scope from my crotch to scrape and clear it. It didn't hurt, but you could definitely feel it at both ends, and watch it on the monitor. I'm sorry your issues went to miserable nerve pain. Outside of finding a point of contact or pressure, that can be altered, I'm not clear as to what options exist, certainly intensive pain management.

abita

It is completely different scenario, but I my neck hurt so bad after my port placement. So much pain, I was scared I couldn't keep it in. Turned out, it was the "glue" that was holding the suture together causing the pain. When it finally came off, all was fine.