Patent ID: 7220253

Claim:
A method of positioning, in a patient, through the stomach, the distal end of an enteral feeding tube in the jejunum or small bowel of the patient; the improvement comprising: (1) positioning the distal end through the stomach in the duodenum with an endoscope; and then (2) inflating a balloon on the distal end of the tube to a size that anchors the tube in place in the duodenum to permit the endoscope to be withdrawn without the tube being pulled back into the stomach; and then (3) withdrawing the endoscope from the patient while the tube remains anchored in place in the duodenum by the balloon; and then (4) deflating the balloon to a size that allows peristaltic action in the intestines of the patient to act on the balloon to advance the tube from the duodenum into the jejunum of the patient; and then (5) further deflating the balloon inside the jejunum to avoid any blockage of the intestines by the balloon while the tube is in the patient.