Kimberly-Clark Health Care Presents an OR-Live™ Premiere Webcast - Endoscopic Placement Method of Balloon-Retained Feeding Tubes

ROSWELL, Ga., May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Health Care today posted a sneak peek preview of an upcoming OR-Live™ webcast of its innovative method for percutaneous endoscopic placement of balloon-retained enteral feeding tubes on its website www.kcdigestivehealth.com. The procedure is performed using the Kimberly-Clark MIC, MIC-KEY Introducer Kit by John Fang, M.D., clinical director of gastroenterology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah. Stephen McClave, M.D., director of clinical nutrition at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, moderates the procedure and explains critical aspects of the initial placement of enteral feeding tubes. The full 22-minute OR-Live premiere webcast will take place to a select audience of gastroenterologist and medical professional media that pre-register on its website www.kcdigestivehealth.com.

During the procedure, Dr. Fang uses the Kimberly-Clark MIC, MIC-KEY Introducer Kit to facilitate the primary placement of a MIC Jejunal Feeding Tube on a 61-year-old male patient with perforated diverticulitis and difficulty feeding due to a tracheostomy. The Kimberly-Clark MIC, MIC-KEY Introducer Kit simplifies placement of balloon-retained tubes. The kit offers lowered risk for complications other procedures may pose (i.e., longer hospital stay, punctured colon, tissue damage, etc.).

The kit features tools designed to facilitate easier feeding tube placement including:  

• Saf-T-Pexy with T-fasteners to secure the stomach to the abdominal wall.
• A proprietary serial dilator with peel-away sheath eliminating the need to repeat passing over a guidewire for each successive dilation.

"In some cases of initial placement of enteral feeding tubes, it is particularly important to secure the stomach to the abdominal wall, for example, in patients with esophageal cancer or patients at high risk for displacing the tube post-procedure," said Dr. McClave. "The MIC, MIC-KEY Introducer Kit provides one of the most efficient designs I have seen for initial placement of enteral feeding tubes."

"The serial dilator's peel-away sheath and absorbable Saf-T-Pexy sutures are unique aspects of the Kimberly-Clark Health Care introducer kits," said Dr. Fang. "These features make the process of placing the feeding tube easier for the physician and help to speed recovery for the patient."

The Kimberly-Clark MIC, MIC-KEY Introducer Kits redefine initial placement by providing physicians with an innovative solution to safely and efficiently facilitate the primary placement of the Kimberly-Clark MIC and MIC-KEY Gastrostomy, Jejunal and Transgastric Jejunal feeding tubes, which provide delivery of enteral nutrition to patients requiring long-term nutritional support. This innovative product enhances patient comfort, physician convenience and safety for both.

Continuing the Kimberly-Clark Health Care tradition and commitment to innovation and excellence, the convenient, all-in-one package features the tools and devices to make patients' lives better, and physicians' lives easier.

Kimberly-Clark in the Healthcare Environment

Around the world, medical professionals turn to Kimberly-Clark for a wide portfolio of solutions that improve the health, hygiene and well-being of their patients and staff. As part of their healing mission, caregivers rely on Kimberly-Clark to deliver clinical solutions and educational resources that they can depend on to prevent, diagnose and manage a wide variety of healthcare-associated infections. This more than $1 billion global enterprise of Kimberly-Clark Corporation holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market share position in several categories, including infection control solutions, surgical solutions, pain management and digestive health. And throughout the care continuum, patients and staff alike trust Kimberly-Clark medical supplies and devices, KLEENEX tissues, KIMBERLY-CLARK PROFESSIONAL skin care products and SCOTT towels for day-to-day needs. For more information, visit http://www.kchealthcare.com.

About OR-Live

OR-Live is the world's leading surgical broadcasting company, providing communication solutions to hospitals, device manufacturers, and pharmaceutical companies that demonstrate, communicate, and educate the latest clinical and technological advances in surgery to surgeons, physicians, allied health professionals, and consumers. The OR-Live broadcasting network provides an intimate look at over 600 live and on-demand surgeries to a global audience, streaming over 23,000 hours of programming each month. The OR-Live network can be found on-line at www.OR-Live.com.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Health Care