Removal of a self-knotted feeding jejunostomy tube in a patient with tongue base cancer

Abstract

The knotting of an intragastric tube is a rare complication, and knotting of a feeding jejunostomy tube is rarer, and the removal or replacement of the tube is difficult. There are many reports on the removal of intragastric knotted tubes, but these methods cannot be applied for the removal of knotted feeding jejunostomy tubes, which do not have a natural orifice as large as the mouth to facilitate the introduction of instruments to correct the complication or remove the knotted tube. This is a stressful situation and doctors have to adopt strategies to resolve this problem safely and effectively in the absence of strong evidence-based knowledge. The author presents the case of a patient with tongue base cancer with a nasogastric feeding jejunostomy tube that knotted during the therapeutic course and describes a simple method to remove the knotted tube using Kelly clamps without additional invasive surgery. A literature review to elucidate methods for the removal of a self-knotted nasogastric tube, especially that occurring in feeding jejunostomy, is also reported.