Hickman lines inserted and managed by a general surgical team: longevity and complications.

Long-term venous access lines are commonplace in the management of patients requiring continuous intravenous chemotherapy, intravenous nutrition or simply as a means of avoiding repeated peripheral access lines in patients with difficult venous access. The insertion and maintenance of these lines is not without major complication. Four years' experience with the Hickman catheter in a general surgical oncology setting are reviewed. Thirty-seven lines were inserted in 37 patients with a mean longevity of 107 days (range 2-322) and an overall complication rate of 1.25 per 1000 catheter days. Four catheters were removed prematurely due to late complications. These figures compare favourably with results for long-term venous access from larger specialist units.