If the health condition prevents the patient from eating and drinking independently, the body is maintained by artificial nutrition. Depending on the circumstances, there are various ways of artificially nourishing the body.

 

Nasogastric tube: A nasogastric tube is a tube that feeds food through the nose into the stomach or small intestine. This type of artificial feeding is only suitable for a maximum of two to three weeks.

 

Parenteral nutrition: If the patient's state of health does not allow food to be fed into the stomach, it is fed directly into a vein.

 

PEG tube: The PEG tube feeds food through the abdominal wall into the stomach. With this form of artificial feeding, a patient can be fed artificially for years.

 

PEJ tube: The PEJ tube is an alternative to the PEG tube, which is used if the stomach outlet is narrowed or a stomach disease is present. A tube guides the food through the abdominal wall into the small intestine.