A medical apparatus for establishing a long-term body access channel extending from a location outside a skin surface, through the epidermis, and into a living body of a patient, said apparatus comprising: (a) a cuff base designed to be implanted subcutaneously, said cuff base comprising an epidermal face along the exterior of a first cuff base wall portion, an epidermal face inlet in said epidermal face extending into a cuff base interior region, and a cuff base outlet from said cuff base interior region along a second cuff base wall portion, said epidermal face having a porous surface adapted to promote tissue ingrowth on said epidermal face, and said porous surface lying substantially in a plane oriented to be substantially parallel to the skin surface when the cuff base is subcutaneously implanted, further wherein said epidermal face inlet passes through the plane of said porous surface; and (b) a hollow transcutaneous cuff tube adapted to traverse the dermal layer and pass through said epidermal face inlet to establish a transcutaneous channel extending from outside the skin into the cuff base interior region when the cuff base is subcutaneously implanted, said epidermal face inlet being sized and adapted to securely receive said cuff tube, and to permit axial adjustment of said cuff base and said cuff tube relative to one another so that the length of the part of the cuff tube traversing the dermal layer conforms to the skin thickness of the patient, and an external portion of said cuff tube, which on implantation traverses the dermal layer, has a porous surface which promotes tissue ingrowth such that, when the cuff tube is passed through said epidermal face inlet, the porous surfaces of said epidermal face and said external portion of said cuff tube form a substantially continuous porous surface for promotion of tissue ingrowth extending transcutaneously from beneath the surface of the skin, through the skin, to a point above the external skin surface when said cuff base is implanted. (a) a cuff base designed to be implanted subcutaneously, said cuff base comprising an epidermal face along the exterior of a first cuff base wall portion, an epidermal face inlet in said epidermal face extending into a cuff base interior region, and a cuff base outlet from said cuff base interior region along a second cuff base wall portion, said epidermal face having a porous surface adapted to promote tissue ingrowth on said epidermal face, and said porous surface lying substantially in a plane oriented to be substantially parallel to the skin surface when the cuff base is subcutaneously implanted, further wherein said epidermal face inlet passes through the plane of said porous surface; and (b) a hollow transcutaneous cuff tube adapted to traverse the dermal layer and pass through said epidermal face inlet to establish a transcutaneous channel extending from outside the skin into the cuff base interior region when the cuff base is subcutaneously implanted, said epidermal face inlet being sized and adapted to securely receive said cuff tube, and to permit axial adjustment of said cuff base and said cuff tube relative to one another so that the length of the part of the cuff tube traversing the dermal layer conforms to the skin thickness of the patient, and an external portion of said cuff tube, which on implantation traverses the dermal layer, has a porous surface which promotes tissue ingrowth such that, when the cuff tube is passed through said epidermal face inlet, the porous surfaces of said epidermal face and said external portion of said cuff tube form a substantially continuous porous surface for promotion of tissue ingrowth extending transcutaneously from beneath the surface of the skin, through the skin, to a point above the external skin surface when said cuff base is implanted.