Peg Tube Removal

keep_the_faith
keep_the_faith Member Posts: 49
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I'm about to schedule the removal of my peg tube and would like to know how the peg is removed. I did read somewhere that all they do is pull it out. If so, doesn't it hurt?

Comments

  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #2
    Varies from wimp to wimp
    Hello Keep, I think it must depend on the type of tube, how tightly it's lodged, etc. It's hard to say, but I'll tell you my eperience.
    I went to the same guy who put it in. Mine was a long tube, a foot or so of it went into my stomach, not the balloon type. The doc told me it usually went easy, he'd never had to travel with a patient to the hospital to finishe.
    He laid me on a gurney. He said, "You ready?; I said yep. One tug on the tube area, a feelig of tugging at the spot, then done.
    No pain, no pain.
    That was my experience. It's not the only scenario, but it was mine. Hope yours goes as easy.
    Oh, I did have the gall to ask him to look at a cat scratch I'd had recently suffered from a semi-feral cat I'd tried to pet in my apartment complex, and you would have thought I'd kicked him in the stomach and insulted his mother in the same moment, so stick to the script, medicine is funny.

    best, Hal
  • nwasen
    nwasen Member Posts: 235 Member
    #3
    Hal61 said:

    Varies from wimp to wimp
    Hello Keep, I think it must depend on the type of tube, how tightly it's lodged, etc. It's hard to say, but I'll tell you my eperience.
    I went to the same guy who put it in. Mine was a long tube, a foot or so of it went into my stomach, not the balloon type. The doc told me it usually went easy, he'd never had to travel with a patient to the hospital to finishe.
    He laid me on a gurney. He said, "You ready?; I said yep. One tug on the tube area, a feelig of tugging at the spot, then done.
    No pain, no pain.
    That was my experience. It's not the only scenario, but it was mine. Hope yours goes as easy.
    Oh, I did have the gall to ask him to look at a cat scratch I'd had recently suffered from a semi-feral cat I'd tried to pet in my apartment complex, and you would have thought I'd kicked him in the stomach and insulted his mother in the same moment, so stick to the script, medicine is funny.

    best, Hal

    tube removal
    My tube must of been a different kind. I was put in twilight and mine was brought out thru my throat. Felt nothing and remember nothing...and glad!
    Tube was a love/hate thing and like a boyfriend who turned out to be a pain, I was glad to be rid of it!!
  • CLRRN
    CLRRN Member Posts: 127
    #4
    What he said....
    Our experience was similar to what Hal described. In fact, we waited longer in the waiting room. Mike went back, they deflated the balloon that held it in place and said "are you ready?" He cautiously replied "Uhhh I think so" and the doc pulled it out quickly, placed a gauze over the hole, taped it and home we went.

    Mike was pleasantly surprised that it was that simple. Wishing you a simple and easy experience as well.
  • keep_the_faith
    keep_the_faith Member Posts: 49
    #5
    Hal61 said:

    Varies from wimp to wimp
    Hello Keep, I think it must depend on the type of tube, how tightly it's lodged, etc. It's hard to say, but I'll tell you my eperience.
    I went to the same guy who put it in. Mine was a long tube, a foot or so of it went into my stomach, not the balloon type. The doc told me it usually went easy, he'd never had to travel with a patient to the hospital to finishe.
    He laid me on a gurney. He said, "You ready?; I said yep. One tug on the tube area, a feelig of tugging at the spot, then done.
    No pain, no pain.
    That was my experience. It's not the only scenario, but it was mine. Hope yours goes as easy.
    Oh, I did have the gall to ask him to look at a cat scratch I'd had recently suffered from a semi-feral cat I'd tried to pet in my apartment complex, and you would have thought I'd kicked him in the stomach and insulted his mother in the same moment, so stick to the script, medicine is funny.

    best, Hal

    Thanks, Hal
    It sounds like you and I have the same type of tube. It's going to be the easiest thing I've had to do in the past two years.

    Here's to no pain!
  • keep_the_faith
    keep_the_faith Member Posts: 49
    #6
    CLRRN said:

    What he said....
    Our experience was similar to what Hal described. In fact, we waited longer in the waiting room. Mike went back, they deflated the balloon that held it in place and said "are you ready?" He cautiously replied "Uhhh I think so" and the doc pulled it out quickly, placed a gauze over the hole, taped it and home we went.

    Mike was pleasantly surprised that it was that simple. Wishing you a simple and easy experience as well.

    Seems easy enough..
    Can't wait to get it over and done with. Seems like a piece of cake.
  • QT314
    QT314 Member Posts: 5
    #7
    keep_the_faith said:

    Seems easy enough..
    Can't wait to get it over and done with. Seems like a piece of cake.

    Don't worry about it. They
    Don't worry about it. They just pull it out and off you go, no pain whatsoever. If only everything else was this easy. I'm a little bummed now that it looks like I have two belly buttons, but I was getting too old for a bikini anyway! It heals up very quickly.
  • keep_the_faith
    keep_the_faith Member Posts: 49
    #8
    QT314 said:

    Don't worry about it. They
    Don't worry about it. They just pull it out and off you go, no pain whatsoever. If only everything else was this easy. I'm a little bummed now that it looks like I have two belly buttons, but I was getting too old for a bikini anyway! It heals up very quickly.

    QT314
    I just got my bathroom remodeled and am anxious to take a bath. How long after the removal can I do this?
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #9
    Hal61 said:

    Varies from wimp to wimp
    Hello Keep, I think it must depend on the type of tube, how tightly it's lodged, etc. It's hard to say, but I'll tell you my eperience.
    I went to the same guy who put it in. Mine was a long tube, a foot or so of it went into my stomach, not the balloon type. The doc told me it usually went easy, he'd never had to travel with a patient to the hospital to finishe.
    He laid me on a gurney. He said, "You ready?; I said yep. One tug on the tube area, a feelig of tugging at the spot, then done.
    No pain, no pain.
    That was my experience. It's not the only scenario, but it was mine. Hope yours goes as easy.
    Oh, I did have the gall to ask him to look at a cat scratch I'd had recently suffered from a semi-feral cat I'd tried to pet in my apartment complex, and you would have thought I'd kicked him in the stomach and insulted his mother in the same moment, so stick to the script, medicine is funny.

    best, Hal

    Wimp weighing in here...
    I didn't have the balloon at the end; mine had kind of a mushroom shaped flare. Took a pretty long hard slow pull for me, I felt a burning sensation as it came out, and then I must have had some kind of muscle spasm because I was pretty uncomfy for a couple of minutes afterward - pain of the muscle-spasming kind. Eeeeek. Then I got a gauze pad slapped on and went home.

    Some folks have a G-Tube rather than a PEG tube, and I believe that kind needs to be surgically removed.

    I was advised to avoid soaking baths and swimming for a week, or until the hole closed off. Seems like it took more like two weeks for my hole to close off, but no ill effects.

    Deb
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #10
    keep_the_faith said:

    QT314
    I just got my bathroom remodeled and am anxious to take a bath. How long after the removal can I do this?

    As Deb spoke of- the removal experience all depends on what kind of tube one gets. The G-tube she spoke of is not a great experience, but even it only hurts for a second or two, which is small potatos compared to where you've been during treatment. Not a big deal.

    kcass
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #11
    Never had a PEG tube but I
    Never had a PEG tube but I once had to remove a catheter from my bladder after prostate surgery. I simply released the air from the balloon and pulled it out. The thought of doing it myself was worse than actually doing it. The surgeon would have done for me but he was on the other side of the state and I didn't feel the drive was worth it especially since he told me how easy it was to do it myself.
  • Mikemetz
    Mikemetz Member Posts: 465 Member
    #12
    PEG removal
    Mine was the balloon type and it came out with the quick tug by the doctor. He didn't give me any meds, or warning--just the tug. I wasn't ready, and it stung a whole lot when it came out. I just wish he told me so I could have braced myself. But it healed quickly and left a very small scar that I call my "belly button North."
  • George_Baltimore
    George_Baltimore Member Posts: 303
    #13
    Mikemetz said:

    PEG removal
    Mine was the balloon type and it came out with the quick tug by the doctor. He didn't give me any meds, or warning--just the tug. I wasn't ready, and it stung a whole lot when it came out. I just wish he told me so I could have braced myself. But it healed quickly and left a very small scar that I call my "belly button North."

    Peg removal
    When I had my first tube pulled out, my experience was much like Mike's. I went to the doctors office to schedule an appointment to have it taken out, he surprised me when he asked if I wanted it out right then. I thought I would be put under twilight or something. He told me to hop up on the table. He grabbed the tube and told me I'd feel a little pressure. I would call it pain not pressure. It didn't last long but it didn't tickle while being done. I would much rather have been asleep. This was done in December of 2004. To the best of my recollection, the hole closed up immediately. I don't remember any discomfort afterwards. Good luck!
  • Greend
    Greend Member Posts: 678
    #14
    tube
    The doctor said "get ready" and then snatched it out. I had the mushroom on the first one. Since then I've had three baloon types replaced and they simply extract the saline in the baloon and pull it out. No pain.

    First one had about 2 - 3 seconds of short pain, nothing to worry about.
  • patricke
    patricke Member Posts: 570 Member
    #15
    PEG REMOVAL
    HEY KTF, AS HAS BEEN PREVIOULY REPORTED, THE REMOVAL EXPERIENCE DEPENDS ON HOW THE TUBE IS ANCHORED INTO THE STOMACH. OVER THE PAST 11 1/2 YEARS I'V HAD BOTH AND STILL HAVE ONE. I ONCE HAD A BALOON TYPE THAT SPONTANEOUSLY DEFALTED AND SLID OUT DURING A TRIP, WHILE I WAS AT A REST STOP ON THE TURNPIKE, NOW THAT WAS A SURPRISE. I HAVE HAD THE MUSHROOM/DIAPHRAM TYPE STOPPERS MOST OF THE TIME, WHICH I DO PREFER (NO SURPRISE DROP OUTS), HOWEVER, I NEVER LOOK FORWARD TO THE ANNUAL REPLACEMENT. THE DOC JUST DOES A GRIP, THREE COUNT AND QUICK YANK (USUSALLY AT TWO), WHICH HURTS A LOT MOMENTAIRLY, BUT THEN IT'S BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD. SO, THE BALOON WILL BE A PIECE OF CAKE, AND IF YOU HAVE THE MUSHROOM, THE CAKE WILL BE A BIT STALE, BUT OVER IN A HEARTBEAT. BEST OF LUCK, I'M ROOTING FOR THE BALOON FOR YOU.

    PATRICK

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