Need help with equipment on a new tracheotomy
June 21, 2010 4:01 PM Subscribe
My father in law just had this trach implanted. I need some help finding a small tool to aid him in taking it in and out.
So he's 87 and suffering from occasional complications due to a bi-lateral paralysis of his voicebox. Basically, if he gets a cold, his airway closes and he can't breathe.
Since this has landed him in the hospital, they wouldn't release him until he got this trach put in, lest he spend the next month or so shuttling between the emergency room and his studio apartment.
So he had it put in, no problem. He's recovering nicely, and started talking again today, 4 days after the surgery.
Now we've hit a new snag. The inner part of the trach is held in with pressure (you squeeze the tabs on the sides which lock around a ring on the outer part), and his hands aren't strong enough to remove it. They won't release him until he can do this by himself. He lives in Hawaii, we live in NJ. My wife is there for the next week or so, but after that, he's back on his own. He's very independent (despite his age) and as stubborn as 10 mules, and doesn't want to have a daily visiting nurse to help him. The inner part needs to be taken off at night to help him breathe while sleeping.
We're looking for a tool to help him, or another solution. The wife was thinking pliers, but I think the gnurled grippy part of the plier will mess up the plastic. He could cover them with some sort of medical tape, but I have a hard time believing that I can't find some sort of gentle-duty plier, or something made of plastic.
Does anyone know of a way that we can get him something to help him take this thing off so he can get out of the hospital and back into his home?
So he's 87 and suffering from occasional complications due to a bi-lateral paralysis of his voicebox. Basically, if he gets a cold, his airway closes and he can't breathe.
Since this has landed him in the hospital, they wouldn't release him until he got this trach put in, lest he spend the next month or so shuttling between the emergency room and his studio apartment.
So he had it put in, no problem. He's recovering nicely, and started talking again today, 4 days after the surgery.
Now we've hit a new snag. The inner part of the trach is held in with pressure (you squeeze the tabs on the sides which lock around a ring on the outer part), and his hands aren't strong enough to remove it. They won't release him until he can do this by himself. He lives in Hawaii, we live in NJ. My wife is there for the next week or so, but after that, he's back on his own. He's very independent (despite his age) and as stubborn as 10 mules, and doesn't want to have a daily visiting nurse to help him. The inner part needs to be taken off at night to help him breathe while sleeping.
We're looking for a tool to help him, or another solution. The wife was thinking pliers, but I think the gnurled grippy part of the plier will mess up the plastic. He could cover them with some sort of medical tape, but I have a hard time believing that I can't find some sort of gentle-duty plier, or something made of plastic.
Does anyone know of a way that we can get him something to help him take this thing off so he can get out of the hospital and back into his home?
I like the sugar tongs, but with some padding on them to help them grip.
We used to put latex tubing on plastic clamps for IV tubing. The hospital likely has some, even in this latex allergy day.
Also called surgical tubing and may be available in fishing supply stores.
And exercise tubing may be an option also.
posted by SLC Mom at 5:28 PM on June 21, 2010
We used to put latex tubing on plastic clamps for IV tubing. The hospital likely has some, even in this latex allergy day.
Also called surgical tubing and may be available in fishing supply stores.
And exercise tubing may be an option also.
posted by SLC Mom at 5:28 PM on June 21, 2010
Response by poster: I'm sort of leaning towards channel locks, and having him use the rubber-coated handles, but I'm worried that they're a little heavy and unwieldy when trying to use them on one's throat while looking in a big mirror, esp if he's standing in the bathroom with weak legs and his walker behind him.
What I really want is something that maybe screws shut (thus eliminating the gripping problem completely), and has either plastic or rubber coated jaws, and preferably something surgical-ish, IE strong and light. I don't know, it probably doesn't exist.
posted by nevercalm at 5:32 PM on June 21, 2010
What I really want is something that maybe screws shut (thus eliminating the gripping problem completely), and has either plastic or rubber coated jaws, and preferably something surgical-ish, IE strong and light. I don't know, it probably doesn't exist.
posted by nevercalm at 5:32 PM on June 21, 2010
I have pliers similar to these RoboGrips and I find them a lot lighter and easier to handle than channel locks. Like SLC mom says, stretch some rubber tubbing over the teeth of the jaws.
I'm worried that a screw shut mechanism might be be problematic if say, it were to jam or have some other difficulty while still attached.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:57 PM on June 21, 2010
I'm worried that a screw shut mechanism might be be problematic if say, it were to jam or have some other difficulty while still attached.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:57 PM on June 21, 2010
If you can find ignition pliers, they look like a tiny pair of channel locks. They may be too small, but at least they're light and not unwieldy.
(I've ground the teeth off of mine so I can use them for setting stones in jewelery)
posted by WowLookStars at 5:01 AM on June 22, 2010
(I've ground the teeth off of mine so I can use them for setting stones in jewelery)
posted by WowLookStars at 5:01 AM on June 22, 2010
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Interesting to see the medical supply site has a Father's Day sale.
posted by fish tick at 4:44 PM on June 21, 2010