Will was early to his GI clinic appointment at 11 am, and they took him in right on time. Will's appointment was with Mary O'Rourke, a Physicians Assistant-Certified. She made a call to Columbus to find out what size tube Will had in his stomach, and then asked Will if he minded if she invited a student in to watch the removal. Will said he had no objection, explaining that he had once been a medical student too.
I had volunteered not to watch the insertion of the PEG tube, but I thought I could stand to watch its removal. The procedure for removal is to grab the tube and pull really hard until it pops out. I could've done it, but was sure glad I didn't have to. For a brief moment it looked like Will's innards were being extracted from his abdomen through a very small hole. Mary warned that it would hurt really bad, but only briefly. Will's OW! told us her description was accurate.
Will takes one adult aspirin a day, so they expected some bleeding, and got it. Another nurse came in to apply pressure to the tube site for 15 minutes. After that time the bleeding had stopped. They put new gauze and a pressure bandage on him, and we were free to go home. The bandage can be removed after 24 hours. The site heals from the inside out, and there are no restrictions on what Will can eat while it's healing.
2 comments:
Congratulations, Will. I'm sure glad you don't have to have that tube any more.
That sounds rather medieval. Pulling until it comes out? Yeesh.
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