A Gastrostomy Tube (often referred to as a G-tube, or a RIG when placed by a radiologist) provides a direct pathway for nutrition into your stomach through the abdominal wall.
About this scan
Common Indications for Gastrostomy Tube
Your doctor may request this procedure if you:
- Have difficulty safely swallowing food or liquids (dysphagia) due to a stroke or other neurological conditions.
- Need long-term nutritional support due to severe weight loss.
- Are undergoing treatments for head, neck, or throat cancers that make eating impossible.
Will it be painful?
You will receive local numbing medicine, which may cause a brief pinch and a burning sensation. You may also receive IV sedation to help you relax. You might feel a dull pushing or pressure as the tube is inserted, but you should not feel sharp pain.
Before your appointment
Do I need to prepare?
Follow the anesthesia and procedure team's exact food, feed, fluid, and medicine instructions. Do not pause anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs without a coordinated plan.
During the scan
What happens during the procedure?
You will lie flat on your back on an imaging table. The radiologist will use an ultrasound to carefully locate your liver and spleen to ensure they are safely out of the way. Then, using continuous X-ray video for precision, they will numb the skin on your belly. A small needle is guided directly into your stomach. Sometimes, tiny anchors called T-fasteners are used to temporarily hold your stomach against your abdominal wall. Finally, a soft, flexible feeding tube is slipped through the opening and secured in place.
How long does it take?
The placement is relatively quick, generally taking between 30 and 45 minutes.
Safety and special situations
What are the important limitations and safety checks?
Interventional radiology is minimally invasive, but it is not risk-free and is not automatically safer or more effective than surgery, endoscopy, medicines, or observation for every patient. Technical success does not always produce symptom relief or cure disease, and repeat treatment or another approach may be needed. Suitability depends on anatomy, disease severity, comorbidities, imaging, local expertise, and the alternatives available.
Risks vary by procedure and may include pain, bleeding, infection, contrast reaction, kidney injury, radiation exposure, vessel or organ injury, clotting, device movement or blockage, sedation complications, treatment failure, and an unplanned operation or admission. Tissue sampling can be nondiagnostic and requires pathology; tumor treatments require oncology follow-up. The consent discussion should cover the patient-specific benefits, material risks, alternatives, and what happens if the procedure cannot be completed.
Preparation is individualized. Give the team a complete list of anticoagulants, antiplatelet drugs, diabetes medicines, supplements, allergies, kidney problems, pregnancy possibility, and prior contrast reactions. Do not stop a blood thinner or diabetes medicine on your own: the procedural team and prescribing clinician must balance bleeding against thrombosis or metabolic risk and provide exact written instructions. Fasting, laboratory tests, antibiotics, sedation, escort, admission, and aftercare differ by procedure.
Sources and summary
Sources and further reading
Conclusion
A radiologically inserted gastrostomy can provide enteral access, but it does not eliminate aspiration or guarantee adequate nutrition. Peritonitis, leakage, bleeding, infection, buried or displaced devices, blockage, and accidental early removal can be emergencies; feeding and replacement must follow the tube team's plan.