Gastrostomy tube care is the process of caring for a gastrostomy tube, which is a tube inserted through the abdominal wall into the stomach. This tube is used to provide nutrition, medication, or fluids to a patient. This guide will provide information on how to
A gastrostomy is the creation of an artificial external opening into the stomach for nutritional support or gastric decompression. Typically this would include an incision in the patient's epigastrium as part of a formal operation. When originally devised over a century ago the procedure was completed through open surgery using the Stamm technique. It can be performed through surgical approach, percutaneous approach by interventional radiology, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) or percutaneous ultrasound gastrostomy (PUG).