Questions about Ventilator Balloon

[dadspooh]

Hi folks. My dad is going to the ER tonight. As expected I'm worried, but also not expecting bad news. His ventilator balloon will not hold an inflation making eating difficult. Has any ever had this happen? Is this common? Did we break it somehow? Kim

 

[quadbliss]

I have had my PEG balloon give out, but never the trach tube balloon. I get a new trach tube about once a month. How long has your dad had this tube?

Mike

 

[dadspooh]

trach balloon

He's only had the trach for about one month. The doc said the trach balloon had a slow leak. His lungs are filled with gunk and they don't want to release him from the hospital until they get them clear. He's pretty frustrated, but once he saw the x-rays he agreed to stay. Kim

 

[quadbliss]

Hi Kim,

I find that most of my secretions originate just above the cuff. If the cuff is not fully inflated, gravity causes the secretions to run down into my lungs. This could be the reason your Dad's lungs are so full.

It is also important to keep up with trach suctioning. If secretions are too thick for the suction machine, he may need more water. If water doesn't help, a Cough Assist Machine always does the trick. :-D

Mike

 

[Paty]

Hi Kim

Hi Kim:

I had the experience with a leakage of air on my husband's trach ballon, that was the
reason why we had problems with his ventilator at home on the two days we got out
of the hospital, my son didn't wait to be in the hospital and did the changing at home with the anesthesiologist that assists him on surgeries and with my help, this was done at midnight and early next morning we translated him back to the hospital were we spent four more month's adding our stay to six month's summing up the two we had
been there since his Tracheostomy and PEG procedure.

We really have to be very careful with the way we handle all the tubing on suctioning, etc. etc.

Hope everything goes okay for your daddy, and like Quadbliss says, Trach tubes have to be changed periodically.

Kim his lungs have to be cleared, because this can cause a pneumonia, like Quadbliss says suctioning is very important in another post I mentioned all the things I had to learn to be able to help my husband even though we were living at the hospital.

Paty
Cals to late husband Jorge
Dx 10/17/05
Died 30/12/07