Question:
Female, 5 months, Deletion
Have you seen an increase in infants being denied a G-tube? Our pediatrician recommended us for one after we’ve had a lot of trouble with the NG tube and put in the referral, but the surgeon said there’s a new study showing a 37% risk of complications and denied us getting one for our daughter. We were told to tough it out with the NG tube.
Nurse Lynn’s Response:
Hello and thank you for your question, I have attached a link to that recently published article. The article had a total of 346 participants and goes on to say that most individuals have their g-tube removed by the age of 2 years. The severe complication rate from G-tubes was about 25 times higher than from NG tubes. G-Tube placement puts our individuals at risk for anesthesia and surgery related complications. Every case is unique and should carefully weigh the pros and cons. There are some insurance companies that will pay for a home nurse to come in to assist with NG tube management. I’m not sure what type of complications your daughter has had with the NG tube but perhaps there are other possible supports that the hospital and insurance could offer.
Resource:
Feeding Tube Use and Complications article
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Jennifer Bolander has been serving as a Special Education Specialist for PWSA (USA) since October of 2015. She is a graduate of John Carroll University and lives in Ohio with her husband Brad and daughters Kate (17), and Sophia (13) who was born with PWS.
Perry A. Zirkel has written more than 1,500 publications on various aspects of school law, with an emphasis on legal issues in special education. He writes a regular column for NAESP’s Principal magazine and NASP’s Communiqué newsletter, and he did so previously for Phi Delta Kappan and Teaching Exceptional Children.
Evan has worked with the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA) since 2007 primarily as a Crisis Intervention and Family Support Counselor. Evans works with parents and schools to foster strong collaborative relationships and appropriate educational environments for students with PWS.
Dr. Amy McTighe is the PWS Program Manager and Inpatient Teacher at the Center for Prader-Willi Syndrome at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duquesne University receiving her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Education with a focus on elementary education, special education, and language arts.
Staci Zimmerman works for Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) consultant. Staci collaborates with the PWS multi-disciplinary clinic at the Children’s Hospital in Denver supporting families and school districts around the United States with their child’s Individual Educational Plan.
Founded in 2001, SDLC is a non-profit legal services organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout the South. It partners with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs, Legal Services Corporations (LSC) and disability organizations on major, systemic disability rights issues involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the federal Medicaid Act. Recently in November 2014, Jim retired.