Question:
What the heck is a G-Tube? Also what is a JP drain?

My nurse vaguely answered my question as to what I will have when I wake in recovery. I have no idea what these things are...can someone help?    — Joie N. (posted on October 22, 2002)

October 22, 2002
A g tube is the tube up your nose and down into your tummy. The JP drain is the drain that comes from your abdomen to the outside to a little bulb that lets them measure how much fluid is draining and lets the medical staff know if you are leaking outside your pouch.
   — Carolyn I.

October 22, 2002
Hi Joie, My name is Stephanie and I am a nurse. Did the nurse say G-tube or NG-Tube? A G-tube is a tube that goes through your stomach. It is a feeding tube. An NG-tube goes through your nose and into your stomach. It will assist with meds and feedings if necessary and also can be used to suck out the acid in your stomach. A JP drain is a Jackson-Pratt drain. It is from the inside of the wound to the outside of your body. It is secured with a stitch or two and it is used to drain the wound. There will be a little oval shaped, clear ball and you will be able to see the drainage. This way the doctor and nurses can keep track of your drainage. I am not sure when your doc will disconnect either of these. Most will disconnect after the NG-tube after the leak test. My doctor will not take out the JP until after my first check up. Make sure you check with the doctor or a different nurse before you go any further. Make sure all your questions are answered and that you feel comfortable with those answers. You have the right to be informed. Good Luck.
   — Stephanie T.

October 23, 2002
I had both. The G-tube coming out my left side was used at first to drain bile and other fluids from my stomach; later, I used it to inject Ensure into my stomach, before I was able to eat anything. Not all surgeons use this technique, but mine is fairly conservative and worries about malnutrition in the immediate post-op period. The G-tube came out about three weeks after surgery (and boy, was I ready to see it go!). The JP tube, or Jackson-Pratt tube, came out my right side, and was used to drain blood and other fluids immediately post-op. While I was under, they did a liver biopsy and accidentally nicked a vein in my liver, then couldn't stop the bleeding -- so the JP tube filled up very quickly at first, then more slowly as things healed up. They took it out before I left the hospital. Hope this clears up any confusion for you! And best of luck in your surgery.
   — Karen I.

October 23, 2002
Finally an answer to this question that I have been wondering about too. The reason is: after I had my first surgery, I had a G tube and when I ate some jello it showed up in the g tube. Yellow and red. My question is: is the g tube in the old stomach or the new stomach? If in the old stomach, that means I had a leak into the old stomach, right? confusing....please help me find out this as I had a disruption from this surgery and I wonder if that was showing up from the very beginning before I was transected. At that time I was not transected.
   — Mylou52

October 23, 2002
Its in your old stomach......and it probably wasnt jello you were looking at. : )
   — RebeccaP