ABOUT

Gastric feeding tubes are tubes that are surgically into someone's stomach through a process called PEG. PEG stands for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, a procedure in which a flexible feeding tube is placed through the abdominal wall and into the stomach. PEG allows nutrition, fluids and/or medications to be put directly into the stomach, bypassing the mouth and esophagus. Doctors use a lighted flexible tube called an endoscope to guide the creation of a small opening through the skin of the upper abdomen and directly into the stomach. This procedure allows the doctor to place and secure a feeding tube into the stomach. Patients generally receive an intravenous sedative and local anesthesia, and an antibiotic is given by vein prior to the procedure. Complications can occur with the PEG placement. Possible complications include pain at the PEG site, leakage of stomach contents around the tube site, and dislodgment or malfunction of the tube. Possible complications include infection of the PEG site, aspiration, bleeding, and perforation. This feeding tube is also called a G-tube and needs to be pumped with a feeding syringe into the tube to allow nutrients to reach the stomach.