Clinical Experience With Jejunostomy Feeding Tubes In 47 Small Animal Patients

The medical records of 39 dogs and 8 cats which had jejunostomy feeding tubes placed using modifications of a previously described surgical technique were retrospectively reviewed. Modifications included the addition of a suture to anchor the feeding tube to the jejunum, the use of a continuous circumferential suture to pexy the jejunum to the abdominal wall, and the placement of a skin suture that penetrated deep into the abdominal wall fascia. All tubes were placed during surgical treatment of a primary intraabdominal disease. Tubes were used for feeding from 1 to 41 days (average 9.7 days). Sixteen patients (34%) developed mild to moderate complications such as chewing at the tube, inadvertent tube removal, tube obstruction, and cellulitis around the ostomy site. Three patients (6%) developed severe complications associated with breakdown of the surgical site. The modified jejunostomy technique was effective for placement of jejunostomy tubes as a complementary procedure to exploratory celiotomy.