Can anyone offer any insight into the recovery time?
Obvously they give the standard time but is it longer or shorter when they have the g-tube?

Just wanted to update members on this.
Well it seems next month is the time for the operation as things havent changed and we now need to look at this seriously.

chloe as a feeding tube best thing we ever did i didnt want it to start with! anyway chloe had a fundo done at same time a big one but recovery was only about two weeks them who had just the g tube seemed to heal a lot quicker than her.

Hi Mumsy

I just wanted to let you know that I had the same fears and reservations as you although my child needed a PEG for different reasons to your baby. We were told that it would be dangerous to feed Zack from birth as he had a weak suck and they (being the professionals) said they didn't know how safe his swallow was so he initially had an NG tube. He hated that and used to pull it out frequently. In the mean time we tried him with little bits of water which he managed here and there. We went for the PEG and it was the best thing we ever did, no more horrid NG tubes. Feeding was easy and medicines piece of cake. We now continue to try him with pureed food which he has a go at but we don't stress if he isn't getting it. At the end of the day he is growing big and strong plus if he eventually does get to eat orally the PEG can be removed quite easily so it's not permanent.

Zack had his fitted when he was about 5 months old. He stayed in over-night and I won't lie to you he was in some pain with the air that they put into the tummy to blow it up during the operation. He was also a bit rotten after the anesthetic. It took around 10 - 14 days for him to become comfortable and for us to get him back to his allocated amount of food that he should be having. We also went through this period with him be sick quite a bit but it all soon passed and even though I though oh God what have we done, after it had all settled down it was fantastic.

Sometimes the area can become a bit sore but it is treatable with creams and as long as you keep it clean then you shouldn't have too many problems.

I know it may feel like if you get this done then you are admitting your child may have a problem with feeding but keep in your mind that it isn't permanent it can be taken away.

Hope all goes well.

Linzi

hi, did your daughter have the operation yet? my son kai had cerebral palsy which means (for him) he struggles eating. he had a NG tube at around 18months old and they are horrible things, but he had a gastrostomy at 2 years and we've not looked back. the initial operation is for a "peg", then 6 months later it's another operation for a "button", which you need to test weekly and change roughly every 3 months. i would say go for it, as it takes so much pressure off for you all and you can give your daughter feeds as and when she needs them. if she does start eating enough at a later date then the button can be removed and apparantly heals up within a few hours! the area can get a bit sore sometimes, but your doctor can advise on what to use. pain wise, i think the initial operation will cause some discomfort for a while, maybe a couple of weeks, but the after the second operation my son was fine straight away! hope this helps, and good luck, lisa x