Summarized is our own experience with the implantation of subcutaneous ports in hemato-oncological patients, with the use of ports, and with complications which have appeared in their application.The series under assessment includes 216 patients who had venous ports implanted in the years 1997 through 2002. Venous ports at the time of assessment have been in place a total of 99 335 days under treatment. Ports from the companies B. Braun and Ella CS were used in a standard way for applying drugs, taking blood samples, applying blood derivatives, as well as for transplanting peripheral hemopoietic stem cells. At an average the ports were in place 459 days with a median of 403.5 days in the range of 7 to 1404 days. The overall number of complications was surprisingly very low - 49, i.e. 22.68%, representing 0.49 complication per 1000 treatment days. In the usual central catheters and in Hickman catheters the number of complications reaches 50 to 80%. Only 28 of the 101 ports, i.e. 27.7% of the overall number had to be extracted due to some complication. Infectious complications have appeared in the series in only 6.94% of patients. Those complications represented 30.61%of all complications and were the most frequently appearing. As regards quality of life, the patients perceive the port to be a positive contribution and are satisfied foremost with the painless application of therapy and that they are not hindered by it in their everyday lives. It has thus been demonstrated that ports are the safest and relatively least expensive alternative for the application of drugs into a central vein in hemato-oncological patients.

        Key words: port - complication - infection - quality of life.