Although Tunnelled catheters are widely used and are fast replacing regular temporary jugular catheters, we shy from undertaking left sided TC . This is due to obvious reasons of difficulty in placing the catheter and higher chances of misplacements and complications. We thought it would be appropriate to discuss ‘What is Right for the Left? – Issues and ideas during the INForm April meeting.

Dr. Sampathkumar, Chief Nephrologist, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai, a great enthusiast of Intervention Nephrologist chaired the session. After an introductory talk by Dr. J.Balasubramaniam about the INForm forum addressed the issues of left sided tunnelled catheter. Dr. Alex Babu from Kidney Care Centre, Tirunelveli explained with a video demo, the safe method of catheter placement using Bard Glidepath catheter. The flexible stylet with the guide wire appears to make left sided catheter placement easy and safe.

Dr. Hemanth Mehta from Leelavati hospitals, Mumbai, shared his ideas and tips backed by his vast experience with central vein catheters. Dr. Sampath and Dr., Bala explained some of the nuances for safe and successful catheter placement and also narrated instances of misplacements of catheter and how they got out of it wih videos.