Understanding Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG)

A PEG is considered when someone cannot swallow safely, or cannot take in enough food by mouth for a prolonged period, but the stomach and intestines still work. Common examples include swallowing problems after a stroke or with certain neurologic conditions, and treatments of the head and neck that make eating difficult. The aim is simple: dependable nutrition while protecting the lungs from food going down the wrong way.

You will fast for several hours beforehand. Your care team will review your medicines, blood thinners in particular, and usually gives a dose of antibiotics before the procedure to lower the chance of infection. Because sedation is used, plan for someone to accompany you and take you home.

With you sedated and comfortable, the doctor passes an endoscope through the mouth into the stomach and uses its light to choose a safe spot on the skin. That small area is numbed, a small opening is made, and the tube is guided into position.

A soft internal bumper and an external disc hold it gently in place. The placement itself usually takes less than an hour.

Mild soreness at the site is normal for a few days and is managed with simple measures. Before you go home, your care team will show you, and anyone helping you, how to keep the skin clean, flush the tube, and give feedings and medicines through it.

Once healed, the site needs only routine care, and most daily activities can continue. Contact your care team promptly if you notice spreading redness, drainage, fever, or worsening pain at the site, or if the tube comes out. When the tube is no longer needed, your doctor can remove or replace it.