A New and Easy Procedure to Place an Esophagostomy Tube into Dogs and Cats.

Enteral nutrition improves survival rates and hospitalization times. Some diseases affecting the oral cavity can hinder spontaneous nutrition; in these cases the use of an esophagostomic tube can resolve nutritional problems. The innovative method described in this study is easier and more rapid than those currently known because the end of the tube does not need to be extracted from the oral cavity and then be reinserted with a number of maneuvers into the esophagus. The procedure does not require specific instruments, endotracheal intubation, and nor does it require the head to be moved or lifted. In addition, it can be carried out without the support of an assistant even with big or giant dogs. The new method involves the introduction of hemostatic forceps into the oral cavity, which pass through the esophagus wall and skin, then the distal extremity of the tube is firmly held between the extremity of the forceps and oriented caudally. The forceps, holding the tube, need to be retracted in the esophagus and then pushed ventrally and aborally in order to pass the esophagus stoma, without needing to extract the tube from the oral cavity and thus the risk of tube kinking.