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Sengstaken-Blakemore tube
Indications:
- hemorrhage from
- esophageal varices (rarely used today) [1]
Procedure:
- a flexible plastic tube containing several internal channels & 2 inflatable balloons (gastric & esophageal balloons)
- an opening at the bottom (gastric tip) is used to aspirate gastric contents
- the tube is passed through the esophagus & into the stomach
- the gastric balloon is inflated inside the stomach
- traction of 1 kg is applied to the tube so that the gastric balloon will compress the gastroesophageal junction & reduce blood flow to esophageal varices
- if traction alone does not stop the bleeding, the esophageal balloon is inflated
* the esophageal balloon should not remain inflated >6 hours, to avoid necrosis
General
balloon tamponade
References
- Wikipedia: Sengstaken-Blakemore tube
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengstaken%E2%80%93Blakemore_tube