The FDA has issued a Class 1 recall of 2 million huber needles because of a coring problem resulting from defect in the manufacturing and design process. The huber needles are manufactured by Nipro Medical Corporation and distributed by Exelint International Corporation.
The FDA advises healthcare professionals to take the following precautions when using any type of Huber needle (ie, not just those manufactured by Nipro) in conjunction with normally operating ports:
* Avoid flushing the syringe when confirming patency of the needle on accessing the port, as it may introduce a silicone core into a patient’s body.
* Consider aspirating blood after accessing the port and then discard the syringe with its contents. This step may recapture the silicone sliver. If the needle becomes clogged, use a new one.
* Watch for indications of damage to the port’s septum. These include medication leakage, resulting in inadequate dosing as well as tissue damage, and localized erythema.
For detailed information about the recalled huber needles and lot numbers, click here.
Infusion Nurse Blog 
How are we supposed to avoid flushing to confirm patency? Aspirate first always? But often I don’t get aspiration at first with ports and we have to do the “lift your arm/cough/sit up/lay back” dance. Gah. There’s always something.
i an nnot a nurse just a person who had a port and got an infection that almost killed me. I was in hospital for a couple of weeks then in nursing home rehab for 3 and a half months. i would like to find out more about this because my port did not worked right since the Doctor put it in. I would go to him but he retired right after my port was put in. Now I have a pic line and I am nervous about it since the infection. Can you help me in finding out more info. I am on facebook and I love this site of yours and this article. You have made it for us less trained people to understand. Thank you. I am struggling with MS now and this is a ray of hope as to what might have gone wrong. Great INFo!!!!
If you want more info about the port access needle recall, go to the FDA website… Thank you for visiting my blog! Best wishes!
I am so sorry to hear you got an infection in your port. Ports are one of the best infusion devices invented. I am an infusion nurse and when a port is placed properly and accessed with aseptic technique they can be a life saver! I know several cystic fibrosis patients that have had theirs for 10-15 years. I place PICC lines also and they are just as good but just not as long term as Ports. Always remember that when anyone is changing you PICC dressing or end caps or accessing a port, everyone in the room should have a mask on and it should be as aseptic as possible, meaning, sterile gloves and sterile dressings and always, always a thorough cleansing with the accepted solution of choice around site and let it dry before a dressing is placed. Too many times I have seen ports accessed without these precautions, even in a major medical state of the art cancer center that my Dad had been recently treated in, for Stage IV Melanoma. It is you lifeline and you need to protect it!!!