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Yehootu
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My mother just came down with something that will need a Picc line for antibiotics. The Picc is due to come out on the day we will be in Juneau. She would rather not have to get on a tender to go into town. Is there anyway to find out if the ship Dr. can remove the line, or are we better off going to the hospital in Juneau?

Mahalo.

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As a nurse I would recommend calling the hospital in Juneau to see if they would be willing to do this for you. I believe the Dr on ship would have the know how but May not have everything needed on board. It would probably be much less expensive in Juneau.

 

 

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As a nurse I would recommend calling the hospital in Juneau to see if they would be willing to do this for you. I believe the Dr on ship would have the know how but May not have everything needed on board. It would probably be much less expensive in Juneau.

My guess is...it would be a LOT less expensive. Plus since you'd be in the US, your insurance would likely cover it. Insurance most likely wouldn't cover on the ship (especially if it's Medicare).

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My guess is...it would be a LOT less expensive. Plus since you'd be in the US, your insurance would likely cover it. Insurance most likely wouldn't cover on the ship (especially if it's Medicare).

My insurance specifically excludes any services "outside of the US," which includes services from the ship's medical center. This is not a big procedure, but isn't one that would be done on the ship normally. If I were the patient, I'd feel much better having it done in a US hospital, first because insurance would cover it ad secondly because they'd be far more experienced in the removal and covering any issues that might arise.

 

Either you or your doctor should make contact with the hospital there to arrange to have it done. Alternatively, it's not a big deal to keep the line in a few extra days till she is back home.

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Yea, just got confirmation from hospital that Moms last day on PICC will be Ketchikan and we dock there. Of course unless Celebrity takes out the dock again like they did in 2016.

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I think your asking the wrong question. Will they allow her on the ship with PICC line to start with. Notorious for kicking pax off ships for any POTENTIAL medical issues. Contact Princess and get OK in writing that pax with PICC is allowed on the ship. If she's allowed on, schedule procedure AFTER the cruise.

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I think your asking the wrong question. Will they allow her on the ship with PICC line to start with. Notorious for kicking pax off ships for any POTENTIAL medical issues. Contact Princess and get OK in writing that pax with PICC is allowed on the ship. If she's allowed on, schedule procedure AFTER the cruise.

There are people who live with PICC lines and ports for months and even years. There is no reason to reveal this to the cruise line unless you are requesting special services. People cruise with all sorts of medical devices. In the past, I would have said to answer the medical form honestly, but now that has been discontinued.

 

The thing that worries me about this individual is that this is a relatively new PICC line--she hasn't had time to learn about it, management, possible complications, etc.

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If you are thinking of having it removed in Ketchikan you need to contact someone there first. I know as of two years ago there was no dentist in Ketchikan at all and I think I remember being told that there was no doctor or hospital. It’s a very small place. I’m not positive that my memory is right about doctors and hospitals but you should check before going.

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Another question....you said she didn't want to get on the tender to go into Juneau?

Are you sure Juneau is a tender port?

I "think" usually it is NOT a tender port.....

:cool:

 

It can be. If there are too many ships in port, one ship does have to tender. I know, I have been on one of them. It was a pain.

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There's a medical facility in Ketchikan that's open 24/hrs a day. Here's a link to their website. They may be able to help you. Even if there were no doctors, a Nurse Practitioner should be able to do it.

 

 

https://www.peacehealth.org/ketchikan-medical-center

 

 

Also, I agree with the other person who said not to say anything to Princess about it. Loose lips sink ships.

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No harm in leaving PICC line in until you get home , the documentation needed may be a pain and you run the risk of the unexpected happening ...which would require immediate attention that would spoil your cruise . I have had a lot of experience with these access lines ,usually no problem but why temp fate .

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Have you thought of putting the well being and health of your mother before any cruise. If its that close to the cruise you should not be entertaining putting your mother's health at risk and you should cancel the cruise and claim off travel insurance. At best you should contact Princess prior to the cruise to see if they will allow her to embark with those medical issues.

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Have you thought of putting the well being and health of your mother before any cruise. If its that close to the cruise you should not be entertaining putting your mother's health at risk and you should cancel the cruise and claim off travel insurance. At best you should contact Princess prior to the cruise to see if they will allow her to embark with those medical issues.

 

Wow - this is a decision between the patient and her doctor. Your opinion was not asked if they should cruise or not.

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I think your asking the wrong question. Will they allow her on the ship with PICC line to start with. Notorious for kicking pax off ships for any POTENTIAL medical issues. Contact Princess and get OK in writing that pax with PICC is allowed on the ship. If she's allowed on, schedule procedure AFTER the cruise.

my travel partner has a PORT and we been on 3 cruises with it. The only issue they have is the metal detector, requiring a pat down. We do have documents and a medical card that we carry should be issue with security insisting the use of a metal detector.

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Removing a PICC line is normally no big deal. As a now retired RN, I have removed a number of them with no problems.

I agree that the ship's doc would likely have no problem with doing it, or even possibly one of the ship's nurses if directed to do so by the doc, since it's a very simple procedure.

But as mentioned above, if it had to stay in a few extra days till you get back home, that should cause no problems for your Mom, as long as there is no sign of infection at the insertion site.

 

JMO

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Have you thought of putting the well being and health of your mother before any cruise. If its that close to the cruise you should not be entertaining putting your mother's health at risk and you should cancel the cruise and claim off travel insurance. At best you should contact Princess prior to the cruise to see if they will allow her to embark with those medical issues.

Thanks Doc!! :rolleyes:

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My mother just came down with something that will need a Picc line for antibiotics. The Picc is due to come out on the day we will be in Juneau. She would rather not have to get on a tender to go into town. Is there anyway to find out if the ship Dr. can remove the line, or are we better off going to the hospital in Juneau?

Mahalo.

Will you be transporting IV antibiotics and flush for PICC? Could this present an issue when boarding?

 

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There is no problem with traveling with needed medical supplies on the ship. Just bring the documentation from a physician. We do carry my daughter's supplies in a separate container just to make our lives easier (put the container in the carry on if this works for you.) Easy to take out if questioned by security--here are the meds, here is the doc's letter. Done.

 

My only suggestion, which I gave above, is to wait and have the line removed when you get home...provided there is no evidence of infection or other issues. It's not hard to remove, but it might be a pain to arrange in a "far away" port. It would be a simple trip in to the site of your doc's instructions when you get home.

 

Whether to cruise or not is between the patient and her doctor. No need to speculate here.

 

If you do choose to have the line removed in port, DO set it up ahead of time. Otherwise, you'll arrive to find some idiot clerk insisting that "We don't do that here" or "We only remove what we put in." You want to be able to say that "Dr. Jones in XYZ spoke with your Dr. Smith in the ER and it is all set up already," hopefully with written documentation and the name of a nursing supervisor. Without this, you may spend the entire port time sitting there while they attempt to untangle red tape. You'll spend WAY longer trying to get to a competent individual with an elevator that goes to the top than it will take to remove the line!

Edited by moki'smommy
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Have you thought of putting the well being and health of your mother before any cruise. If its that close to the cruise you should not be entertaining putting your mother's health at risk and you should cancel the cruise and claim off travel insurance. At best you should contact Princess prior to the cruise to see if they will allow her to embark with those medical issues.

 

Nice! So good of you to offer your unsolicited, uninformed opinion. Actually, the patient makes the decision whether or not to travel

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I think your asking the wrong question. Will they allow her on the ship with PICC line to start with. Notorious for kicking pax off ships for any POTENTIAL medical issues. Contact Princess and get OK in writing that pax with PICC is allowed on the ship. If she's allowed on, schedule procedure AFTER the cruise.

 

I would see no reason to reveal this to the cruise line if there are no immediate medical needs for it while on the ship itself.

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No harm in leaving PICC line in until you get home , the documentation needed may be a pain and you run the risk of the unexpected happening ...which would require immediate attention that would spoil your cruise . I have had a lot of experience with these access lines ,usually no problem but why temp fate .

 

Your answer makes the most sense, excellent advice. :beer-toast:

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Wow - this is a decision between the patient and her doctor. Your opinion was not asked if they should cruise or not.

 

Granted but shouldnt the patient/son be asking their doctor prior to going on the cruise whether it would be OK to keep the PICC line in longer than suggested and wait until they return home instead of asking on this forum. If the doctor says it would be OK or needs to be removed during the cruise then next call should be Princess cruises for a definitive answer as nobody on here seems to be qualified and is only giving opinions. Princess should confirm if its OK to embark with PICC line and if there medical staff will remove it.

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