Trach ties again

[arielsmom]

Ariel was trached at 5 days old and the nurses in the NICU used suction catheters as trach ties. I have since only tried other kinds of ties a couple of times with miserable results. I love the suction catheter as a tie and wonder if anyone else uses it. Of course you Must always have a scissor handy, but I only change it with a trach change and she has never had any breakdown.
Karen

[Jacob's Mom]

I have never heard of a suction catheter trach tie. That is very interesting. Just out of curiosity, I would like to know more about it or see a picture. A lot of us here use chains and are very happy with them. Have you ever tried them?

[arielsmom]

I've been reading about the chains and am going to order some to try but honestly the only reason would be for asthetic purposes, I love the suction catheters. Do they sound barbaric? I just snip off the end with the suction port thingy and double knot one end and string through one flange prior to change, then when trach is in, thread other end through and double knot, the hard part is getting the correct length, but we just don't trim the ends until we are sure. Ariel's skin is really sensitive, and like I said we have never had any problems. Love the suction caths!

[christyw]

Yes, I've heard of this, and SOMEONE on here has done it, but I don't recall. It was maybe a year ago since I saw a post where someone said that was their method. It worked great because the suction cath won't absorb moisture like twill or velcro ties. Chains also work well and LOTS of us use them for the same reason.

christy

[cariaad]

I wish someone would post a picture of this, as I have heard of it before but can't visualize it myself. It seems like it would take some whomping big knots the way its been described to me, and then there's the question of will it stretch? I'm always interested in other ways to do things as you never know what may come in handy in an emergency...Deb
ps we got Alli's gold chain and love it. Just a 10K yellow gold curb chain with a lobster claw clasp. Total cost was around $75 but well worth it in my opinion (I hated to see her neck peeling and all from the silver).

[indiemum]

We used these for ages and they were ok but Idie kept vomiting and I had trouble changing them on my own. We then went to velcro and I started to use my size 18 catheters as covers for my 8fr and they work like a hot dam. In Canada the only way you are taught is to use twill and suction catheters for trach ties. If you have no trouble with breakdown they may be great for you.

Kelly
ps on p12 bottom left, the picture of Indie as an intro to her page she is wearing them and I have lots more too if anyone wants to see them.

[arielsmom]

Deb- I'm afraid that I'm hopless in the picture category, I hope to have some pictures scanned in soon. You don't tie the catheter onto the trach you just put a double knot in the catheter itself and it doesn't slip through the hole of the trach flange . They have never stretched on me but you definately need to check for tightness since they don't get changed very often.
Karen