Dear Dr. Roach: I had a port put in for chemotherapy. I have a red scar on my chest and a smaller one near my collarbone. None of the nurses have seen one placed in the neck before. Was mine put in wrong, or is this a new style? What can I do to lessen the red scars when I have it taken out? I hate the scar near my neck. Would a laser be helpful?— R.R.
Answer: A chemotherapy port is a medical device to make it easier to provide access to a central vein in order to give medication, especially chemotherapy. They can improve a person’s quality of life, since the nurses and doctors don’t need to put in multiple (uncomfortable) peripheral IV lines, which often fail due to the toxic nature of some chemotherapy on the veins. They are most commonly put into one of the jugular veins in the neck or the subclavian vein under the collarbone. There’s no need to think that the port was put in incorrectly.
Hopefully, your treatment will be successful, and they will no longer need the port. Once that happens, the port can be removed surgically. Scars, for any reason, are often red in the first weeks or months after the incision. Over time, the redness usually fades, and the scar becomes more skin-colored, sometimes paler than the person’s normal skin.
Some treatments are used to improve the cosmetic appearance of the scar. Keeping an ointment, such as petrolatum (Vaseline), over the scar helps it heal. I’ve had success with silicone gel sheets. Plastic surgeons sometimes use lasers, dermabrasion or even surgical scar revision when the patient is particularly dissatisfied. I have very seldom had a patient go through that.
