A New Dual-Purpose Gastrostomy Tube

Decompression of the stomach is often a necessary and efficacious procedure. The complications secondary to the use of nasogastric suction, however, are many and may be of a serious nature. Iglauer and Molt¹ reported 10 cases of severe laryngeal injuries which were attributable to the employment of indwelling duodenal tubes. The average period of intubation in their cases was 8.5 days. The common complications of prolonged intubation are laryngeal obstruction, ulceration, late stricture of the esophagus, and perforation of the stomach or intestine, followed by peritonitis. The patient is constantly annoyed by the unpleasant presence of the tube in his nose and pharynx, and occasionally otitis media and ulcers of the alae nasi, of the nasal septum, and of the pharyngeal mucosa result as direct evidence of a sustained trauma.

Another objection to the use of the inlying nasal tube is the fact that it might not be properly