Life With ALS.com

+    Diagnosed Aug 2005

+     Bipap March 2007

+     PEG July 2007

+     Trache and Vent July 2008

Still Living, Loving & Laughing

This is a question that I get asked very often. People are concerned that if they get a PEG (feeding tube) and/or and tracheostomy they will have to deal with constant infections. I don’t understand where that impression originated and I can only comment on my experience.

You can see in the header on this page that I got my PEG in July 2007 and my trache in July 2008. So far I have had no problems at all and have never had an infection of any kind.

Am I fortunate?

Or, is there a reason I have never had an infection?

I would like to say that I think the biggest reason is we are careful to clean both sites, stomas, properly every day and put fresh dressings on. This is not a laborious procedure either, it is just a case of cleaning with cotton swabs and using a saline solution. It takes less than 5 minutes to properly clean both stomas.

I keep hearing of people who have had a different experience than me and I don’t understand why. What seems to be happening is when they are in the hospital getting their PEG or Trache they end up with an infection. A number of people report some pain and discomfort as well. I have come to the conclusion that the doctor who did their procedure has not done very many and therefore problems resulted.

It is important to find a doctor who has done many successfully. There is no reason for problems.

This is a minor surgical procedure. A gastrologist should be found to do the PEG and an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor for the Tracheostomy. By doing this problems can be avoided. I have heard horror stories from people who did not get doctors who specialize in these procedures.

Unfortunately we hear of the bad experiences and those that have a smooth procedure are often times silent.  I submit that there are more problem free procedures than ones that result in problems.

Do not fear these procedures, just find the right doctor and everything should be fine.

It was for me, I have had both and did not have any pain or problems.

Added: Nov 9, 2010