IV Creativity

Breast IV. Don't try this at home.

I've seen some pretty creative IV's in my career. Some patients are almost impossible to start a peripheral IV. Consequently I've seen patients come to preop with some pretty bizarre locations for their intravenous. I've found them dangling off the knuckle of their fourth finger. I've noticed them inserted over the shoulder and upper chest wall. Then of course there are the foot IV's.

But this one really made me do a double take. The patient was obese, with an AV fistula in one arm and multiple hospitalizations. These are the deadly criteria for trying to find a decent vein. The IV nurse on the ward, in her ingenuity, inserted this catheter into the patient's breast. It was the most unusual place I've yet spotted. Of course being located on the breast made for an awkward tape job trying to secure that IV. But it ran fine and we were grateful for it.