Importance

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Abstract

A low profile adaptor for use with a medical catheter, such as a gastrostomy feeding tube. In one embodiment, the adaptor comprises a body, a clamp and a cap. The body includes a base portion and a sleeve portion, the base portion being dimensioned to engage the skin of a patient and having a transverse bore, the sleeve portion extending upwardly from the base portion and having a longitudinal slot aligned with the transverse bore and a transverse slot intersecting the longitudinal bore. The clamp, which is slidably mounted on the base portion and across the transverse slot of the sleeve, comprises a plate having a transverse opening. The transverse opening has a wide region alignable with the longitudinal bore and correspondingly dimensioned and a narrow region alignable with the longitudinal bore. In use, a medical catheter is inserted up through the base portion and the sleeve portion, including the transverse opening of the clamp situated within the sleeve, and is then inverted over the top edge of the sleeve. The cap is then threadingly mounted on top of the sleeve so as to secure the inverted end of the catheter to the exterior of the sleeve. The cap is provided with an opening through which access to the catheter may be gained. By aligning the wide region or the narrow region of the clamp with the longitudinal bore of the sleeve, one can open or close, respectively, the catheter to the passage of fluids therethrough.

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First Claim