How will the PICC line be put in?
A trained doctor or nurse will put in the PICC line. For the procedure, you will have to lie down. A doctor or nurse will give you a local anesthetic to numb your skin, and then using a needle, will insert the tube into a vein in your arm. Then the needle will be removed, and the tube will be threaded up through your vein to its final destination near your heart. After the PICC line is in place, the doctor or nurse will tape it to your arm with a special transparent dressing, to keep it from coming out. Then you will have an X-ray of your chest taken so the doctors can check the position of the PICC. Some patients will have sutures placed to stop the PICC from falling out.
