MiniONE® Family of G-Tubes

• Make sure the balloon is filled with the prescribed amount of water (resistance should be felt when gently pulling on the tube.) NOTE: The recommended fill volume is printed on top of the fill valve. If you have questions, contact your healthcare provider.
• Check that the g-tube corresponds to the prescribed French size and length. If the incorrect device is in place, call your doctor.
• The g-tube may be too tight or too loose. Call your doctor to have the stoma remeasured.
  For new placements, it may take time for the stoma tract to naturally heal, firm up around the tube, and conform to the balloon. If leaking persists, contact your healthcare provider.
• Be sure to rotate the g-tube daily.
• With each placement, the stoma length should be measured with the AMT Stoma Measuring Device.

• Causes for Leakage:
  • Incorrect size
  • Weight change
  • Amount of water in balloon may be too much or too little
  • Tension at stoma site
  • Stomach may need to be decompressed

BALLOON FAILURE:

• A balloon may leak or deflate over time due to medications, balloon inflation volume, stomach acid, g-tube care, or natural wear. Always keep an extra g-tube on hand in case of an incident. Do NOT remove g-tube until a replacement is available in order to prevent the stoma from closing.

BALLOON WILL NOT DEFLATE:

• Clean the balloon port with a cotton swab to make sure formula/medication or other contaminants are not blocking the balloon port. Insert a slip-tip syringe, push, and twist one-quarter turn. If the balloon still will not deflate, please contact our Enteral Product Specialists by calling 800-869-7382. If the problem persists, call your doctor.

Check stomach for residual, which is the gastric fluid and formula left within the stomach cavity between feeds. If excessive residual occurs often, the patient may be receiving too much formula at one time, the stomach may not be emptying normally, or the g-tube may be too loose or too tight. Call your doctor to have the stoma remeasured.

Stop the feeding pump and estimate the amount of formula lost. Wipe tube connections thoroughly with soap & water. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF THE FEED SET AND DEVICE FEEDING PORT WITH A CLEAN COTTON SWAB AND SOAP AND WATER. Dry connectors and reconnect tubes. Add additional formula accounting for the loss and resume feeding.

• Flush g-tube with 5 ml (10-20 ml for adults) of warm water before and after administering food or medication, every 3-4 hours of continuous feeding, and after checking for stomach content residual. Do NOT place foreign objects down the center of the g-tube. This will damage the g-tube, causing it to become nonfunctional. Make sure the g-tube is in the correct location within the stomach.
• DO NOT mix medications with formula while feeding; always administer medication one at a time and thoroughly clean the extension set. Try to obtain your medications in liquid form when possible. If only available in tablet form, ask your pharmacist if it is safe to crush the tablet into a fine powder and mix with warm water.

The g-tube should be able to turn easily without resistance from the patient’s skin. If g-tube does not turn easily or redness/bleeding occurs at the stoma or the area directly underneath the g-tube, call your doctor. The patient may need to be remeasured for a longer g-tube.

With each placement, the stoma length should be measured with the AMT Stoma Measuring Device.

Although the g-tube is designed to decrease the number of pull outs, a g-tube may become accidentally dislodged. If properly trained, replace the device immediately or call your doctor as the stoma may begin to close within the first hour a device is removed. ALWAYS be sure to have a replacement g-tube on hand for immediate replacement.

Contact your healthcare provider if you or your patient are experiencing vomiting.

Aspiration (inhalation of food or stomach contents into the lungs) may occur while vomiting, causing difficulty in breathing or other serious medical conditions. Stop feeding and decompress the stomach immediately if incidence occurs. CONTACT EMERGENCY CARE IMMEDIATELY IF DIFFICULTY IN BREATHING OCCURS, OR ASPIRATION IS SUSPECTED. DO NOT FEED WHILE THE PATIENT IS LYING FLAT.

Contact your healthcare provider if you or your patient are experiencing constipation.

This may occur due to dehydration, inactivity, feeding routine, or change in formula or medication. Call your doctor if this continues.

May occur if too much formula is administered or if the formula is delivered too quickly. Call your doctor if this continues.

Call your physician if any of the following is observed:

• If the skin around the site is red or raw
• If there is drainage around the site that is white, yellow, or green and may smell bad.
• If crusting is noted at the site
• If there is repetitive leakage of food or stomach contents. (Gauze or pads should not be necessary.) If there is leakage, the g-tube may be too loose or too tight and should be remeasured. Call your doctor to have the g-tube remeasured.
• If the tube falls out and you are unable to replace it easily
• If the patient experiences diarrhea or vomiting
• If the patient develops a fever
• Pain at the g-tube site
• Bleeding, puss, or inflammation at the g-tube site

If the tube becomes displaced or completely falls out of the stoma tract, consult your physician.
If you have been properly trained by your healthcare provider to replace the tube and have a new device on hand, it is important to immediately place the new g-tube in the stoma tract to prevent it from closing.
It is important to ALWAYS keep a spare MiniONE® Balloon Button on hand for emergency situations.