society and community | May 03, 2026

Why is it called a Minnesota tube?

A Sengstaken–Blakemore tube is a medical device inserted through the nose or mouth and used occasionally in the management of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to esophageal varices (distended and fragile veins in the esophageal wall, usually a result of cirrhosis).

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Similarly, you may ask, what is a Minnesota tube?

The Sengstaken-Blakemore (SB)tube is a red tube used to stop or slow bleeding from the esophagus and stomach. A variation of the SB tube, called the Minnesota tube, can also be used to decompress or drain the stomach to avoid insertion of a second tube called a nasogastric tube.

One may also ask, who invented the Minnesota tube? It is named after Robert William Sengstaken Sr. (1923–1978), an American neurosurgeon, and Arthur Blakemore (1897–1970), an American vascular surgeon. They conceptualized and invented the tube in the early 1950s.

Regarding this, how do you use a Blakemore tube?

How to Do it:

  1. Patient should be intubated and the head of the bed up at 45 degrees.
  2. Test balloons on Blakemore and fully deflate.
  3. Insert the Blakemore tube through the mouth just like an NGT.
  4. Stop at 50 cm.
  5. Get a chest x-ray to confirm placement of gastric balloon in stomach.

How does a nose feeding tube work?

The feeding tube passes through the nose,down the throat and esophagus and ends in the stomach. The feeding tube passes through the nose, throat and esophagus, continues through the stomach, and ends in the first section of the small intestine. The feeding tube is inserted directly into in the stomach.

Related Question Answers

What is an Ewald tube?

Ewald tube (plural Ewald tubes) An orogastric tube used to pump the stomach.

How do you measure an NG tube?

Measurement
  1. Position the patient sitting upright with their neck straight.
  2. Measure the desired length of NG tube to be inserted: Measured from the bridge of the nose to the ear lobe. Then down to 5cm below the xiphisternum. Position the patient sitting upright. Don gloves.