Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWho May BenefitHow to PrepareHow a PEG Tube Is PlacedAfter PlacementLiving with a PEG TubeComplicationsOutlookFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Who May Benefit
How to Prepare
How a PEG Tube Is Placed
After Placement
Living with a PEG Tube
Complications
Outlook
Frequently Asked Questions
Feeding tubes are helpful for people who areunable to feed themselvesas a result of an acute illness or surgery, but who otherwise have a reasonable chance to recover.They are also helpful for people who are temporarily or permanentlyunable to swallowbut who otherwise have normal or near-normal physical function.
In such instances, feeding tubes may serve as the only way to provide much-needed nutrients and/or medications. This is known as enteral nutrition.
Some common reasons why a person would need a feeding tube include:
Advantages of a PEG tube for these patients include:
Sue Barr / Getty Images
Before you undergo a gastrostomy, your healthcare provider will need to know if you have any chronic health conditions (such as high blood pressure) or allergies and which medications you take. You may need to stop certain medications, such as blood thinners or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) until after the procedure to minimize the risk of bleeding.
You will not be able to eat or drink for eight hours prior to the surgery and should arrange for someone to pick you up and drive you home.
Other Types of Feeding Tubes
There are three other types of feeding tubes in addition to the PEG tube. These include:
If a person cannot eat and a feeding tube is not an option, then fluids, calories, and nutrients needed to survive are provided intravenously. Generally, getting calories and nutrients into the stomach or into the intestine is the best way for people to get the nutrients needed for the body to function optimally, and therefore a feeding tube provides better nutrition than what can be provided through IV fluids.
What to Know About Different Types of Feeding Tubes
Prior to the PEG placement procedure, you will be given an intravenous sedative and local anesthesia around the incision site. You may also receive an IV antibiotic to prevent infection.
The healthcare provider will then put a lighted, flexible tube called anendoscopedown your throat to help guide the actual tube placement through the wall of the stomach. A small incision is made, and a disc is placed on the inside as well as the outside of the opening in your abdomen; this opening is known as astoma.The part of the tube that is outside the body is 6 to 12 inches long.
The entire procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes. You are usually able to go home the same day.
Once the procedure is finished, your surgeon will place a bandage over the incision site. You will probably have some pain around the incision area right after the procedure, or have cramps and discomfort from gas. There may also be some fluid leakage around the incision site. These side effects should decrease within 24 to 48 hours. Typically, you can remove the bandage after a day or two.
Your healthcare provider will tell you when it is OK to shower or bathe.
It takes time to adjust to a feeding tube. If you need the tube because you are not able to swallow, you will not be able to eat and drink through your mouth. (Rarely, people with PEG tubes can still eat via the mouth.) Products designed for tube feeding are formulated to provide all the nutrients you’ll need.
When you’re not using it, you can tape the tube to your belly using medical tape. The plug or cap on the end of the tube will prevent any formula from leaking onto your clothes.
How to Receive Nutrition
After the area around your feeding tube heals, you’ll meet with a nutritionist or dietitian who will show you how to use the PEG tube and start you on enteral nutrition. Here are the steps you will follow when using your PEG tube:
Having a PEG tube comes with the risk of certain complications. These include:
Difficult Decisions
In some instances, it can be hard to decide whether giving a person a feeding tube is the right thing to do and what the ethical considerations are.Examples of these situations include:
Whether tube feeding improves quality of life (QoL) depends on the reason for the tube and the condition of the patient. A 2016 study looked at 100 patients who had received a feeding tube. Three months later, the patients and/or caregivers were interviewed. The authors concluded that while the tubes didn’t improve QoL for patients, their QoL didn’t decrease.
How do you check PEG tube placement?
The tube will have a mark that shows where it should be level with the opening in your abdominal wall. This can help you confirm that the tube is in the correct position.
How do you clean a PEG tube?
How do you unclog a PEG tube?
First, try to flush the tube as you normally do before and after feedings. A blockage can occur if the tube isn’t flushed or if the feeding formula is too thick. If the tube won’t clear, call your healthcare provider. Never use a wire or anything else to try to unclog the tube.
How do you stop a PEG tube from leaking?
A leaking tube may be blocked. Try flushing it. If that doesn’t work, call your healthcare provider.
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.Understanding percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).Ojo O, Keaveney E, Wang XH, Feng P.The effect of enteral tube feeding on patients' health-related quality of life: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5). doi:10.3390/nu11051046Cleveland Clinic.Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG tube).Metheny NA, Hinyard LJ, Mohammed KA.Incidence of sinusitis associated with endotracheal and nasogastric tubes: NIS database.Am J Crit Care. 2018;27(1):24-31. doi:10.4037/ajcc2018978Yoon EWT, Yoneda K, Nakamura S, Nishihara K.Percutaneous endoscopic transgastric jejunostomy (PEG-J): a retrospective analysis on its utility in maintaining enteral nutrition after unsuccessful gastric feeding.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2016;3(1):e000098corr1. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2016-000098U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medline Plus.PEG tube insertion - discharge.The Oral Cancer Foundation.PEG feeding overview.Michigan Medicine:Living with a feeding tube.Miles A, Watt T, Wong WY, McHutchison L Friary P.Complex feeding decisions: Perceptions of staff, patients, and their families in the inpatient hospital setting.Gerontol Geriatr Med. Aug 22, 2016. doi:10.1177/2333721416665523Kurien M, Andrews RE, Tattersall R, et al.Gastrostomies preserve but do not increase quality of life for patients and caregivers.Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jul;15(7):1047-1054. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2016.10.032
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.Understanding percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).Ojo O, Keaveney E, Wang XH, Feng P.The effect of enteral tube feeding on patients' health-related quality of life: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5). doi:10.3390/nu11051046Cleveland Clinic.Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG tube).Metheny NA, Hinyard LJ, Mohammed KA.Incidence of sinusitis associated with endotracheal and nasogastric tubes: NIS database.Am J Crit Care. 2018;27(1):24-31. doi:10.4037/ajcc2018978Yoon EWT, Yoneda K, Nakamura S, Nishihara K.Percutaneous endoscopic transgastric jejunostomy (PEG-J): a retrospective analysis on its utility in maintaining enteral nutrition after unsuccessful gastric feeding.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2016;3(1):e000098corr1. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2016-000098U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medline Plus.PEG tube insertion - discharge.The Oral Cancer Foundation.PEG feeding overview.Michigan Medicine:Living with a feeding tube.Miles A, Watt T, Wong WY, McHutchison L Friary P.Complex feeding decisions: Perceptions of staff, patients, and their families in the inpatient hospital setting.Gerontol Geriatr Med. Aug 22, 2016. doi:10.1177/2333721416665523Kurien M, Andrews RE, Tattersall R, et al.Gastrostomies preserve but do not increase quality of life for patients and caregivers.Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jul;15(7):1047-1054. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2016.10.032
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.Understanding percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).Ojo O, Keaveney E, Wang XH, Feng P.The effect of enteral tube feeding on patients' health-related quality of life: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5). doi:10.3390/nu11051046Cleveland Clinic.Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG tube).Metheny NA, Hinyard LJ, Mohammed KA.Incidence of sinusitis associated with endotracheal and nasogastric tubes: NIS database.Am J Crit Care. 2018;27(1):24-31. doi:10.4037/ajcc2018978Yoon EWT, Yoneda K, Nakamura S, Nishihara K.Percutaneous endoscopic transgastric jejunostomy (PEG-J): a retrospective analysis on its utility in maintaining enteral nutrition after unsuccessful gastric feeding.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2016;3(1):e000098corr1. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2016-000098U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medline Plus.PEG tube insertion - discharge.The Oral Cancer Foundation.PEG feeding overview.Michigan Medicine:Living with a feeding tube.Miles A, Watt T, Wong WY, McHutchison L Friary P.Complex feeding decisions: Perceptions of staff, patients, and their families in the inpatient hospital setting.Gerontol Geriatr Med. Aug 22, 2016. doi:10.1177/2333721416665523Kurien M, Andrews RE, Tattersall R, et al.Gastrostomies preserve but do not increase quality of life for patients and caregivers.Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jul;15(7):1047-1054. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2016.10.032
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.Understanding percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).
Ojo O, Keaveney E, Wang XH, Feng P.The effect of enteral tube feeding on patients' health-related quality of life: A systematic review.Nutrients. 2019;11(5). doi:10.3390/nu11051046
Cleveland Clinic.Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG tube).
Metheny NA, Hinyard LJ, Mohammed KA.Incidence of sinusitis associated with endotracheal and nasogastric tubes: NIS database.Am J Crit Care. 2018;27(1):24-31. doi:10.4037/ajcc2018978
Yoon EWT, Yoneda K, Nakamura S, Nishihara K.Percutaneous endoscopic transgastric jejunostomy (PEG-J): a retrospective analysis on its utility in maintaining enteral nutrition after unsuccessful gastric feeding.BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2016;3(1):e000098corr1. doi:10.1136/bmjgast-2016-000098
U.S. National Library of Medicine. Medline Plus.PEG tube insertion - discharge.
The Oral Cancer Foundation.PEG feeding overview.
Michigan Medicine:Living with a feeding tube.
Kurien M, Andrews RE, Tattersall R, et al.Gastrostomies preserve but do not increase quality of life for patients and caregivers.Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. 2017 Jul;15(7):1047-1054. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2016.10.032
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