title: The cecostomy button.
abstract: Percutaneous insertion of a cecostomy tube, performed under local anesthesia, to facilitate antegrade colonic cleansing, has been an invaluable advance in the management of fecal incontinence. However, the patient is left with a length of tubing (2 to 4 inches) protruding from the cecostomy site that has to be taped down to the abdominal wall. Available devices for insertion in place of the cecostomy tube are cumbersome and have a relatively high profile, projecting more than 1 cm from the surface of the abdominal wall. Worn under a swimsuit, they are clearly discernible. The inflated balloon within the cecum can occasionally break. Furthermore, in the individual with a relatively thick abdominal wall, such devices are too short to reach from the skin to the cecum. A new form of low-profile trapdoor device has been developed that overcomes the above shortcomings of other available "buttons." It has been successfully used in a clinical setting in 49 patients.
authors.affiliation: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Chait
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shandling
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D002408:Catheters, Indwelling; D002431:Cecostomy / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002648:Child; D004867:Equipment Design; D005242:Fecal Incontinence; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life