PEG tube placement
What is a PEG tube?
If you have a medical condition that makes it hard to eat enough food, you might need a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube. The PEG tube is inserted through the skin on the abdomen and into the stomach.
Why is a PEG tube inserted?
The procedure is performed so that liquid food can be transferred directly into the stomach. It helps people who have difficulty chewing or swallowing.
How to prepare for a PEG tube placement
After doing a physical examination, your doctor is likely to:
- review your medicines and may make changes if any of them cause thinning of the blood
- do blood tests and urine tests
- do an x-ray of your stomach
- use an endoscope to examine the inside of your stomach
You will need to fast for 6 hours before the procedure and should arrange for someone to take you home afterwards.
What happens during a PEG tube placement
If you are having a PEG tube placement, you will usually be given a sedative to help you relax. You will probably also have a local anaesthetic so you can swallow the endoscope more easily.
The endoscope is inserted through the mouth to the stomach. It is used to find the best place in the stomach for the PEG tube.
Then the skin under the ribs is numbed with local anaesthetic so a small cut can be made where the PEG tube will exit the body.
A wire is passed through the cut and into the stomach at the position marked by the endoscope. The endoscope grips the wire and pulls the wire up to the mouth. The PEG tube is then attached to the wire.
The wire is then used to draw the PEG tube from the mouth to the stomach, through the stomach wall and through the abdomen at the cut under the ribs.
By the end of the procedure, one end of the PEG tube will sit in the stomach and the other will sit against the skin. The whole procedure usually takes 20 to 30 minutes.
What to expect after the procedure
You might or might not be allowed to go home the same day. Before leaving hospital, you will be trained in how to use the PEG tube.
It is common to have some pain in the throat and around the cut skin for a few days. You might also have nausea, a headache or dizziness.
After 6 to 24 hours, you will be given clear fluids through the PEG tube. Once you are used to this, feeds and medicines can be given.
What can go wrong?
Problems are rare. Infection or bleeding in the abdomen may occur, or the tube might become blocked or move.
Contact your doctor without delay if you have:
- signs of infection (fever and/or chills)
- redness, severe pain, swelling, a lot of bleeding or fluid leaking around the PEG tube, contact
- headaches or muscle aches
- feeling dizzy or unwell
- nausea or vomiting
- constipation
- swollen belly
More information
About PEG tube placement
Talk to your doctor if you have questions about PEG tube placement.
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Last reviewed: December 2020
