Parent Q&A: Tips for home parenteral nutrition

Thirteen-month-old Lenox Toth has an infectious smile and personality to match. At 1-day-old, Lenox was diagnosed with midgut volvulus, a condition where the intestines are twisted, or form a kink, and suddenly cut off blood supply. The tiny tot underwent a round of emergency corrective surgeries at Massachusetts General Hospital and one month later, was transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital for further surgical and nutritional management. He underwent an additional intestinal surgery at 2-months-old, and went home with his parents on home parenteral nutrition (HPN) management at 3-months-old. HPN provides a home-based method of providing nutrition intravenously through a central line or PICC when a child cannot take food (or, is limited in how much food he can take) by mouth or enterally (through a feeding tube). The nutrients bypass the normal digestive system and enter the child directly through a thin tube inserted into a vein. Under the care of Boston Children’s HPN team, including Dr. Bram Raphael, director of the Home Parenteral Nutrition Program, and with the unwavering support of his parents, Lenox gets the nutrients he needs in the comfort of his own home. In recognition of HPN Awareness Week, Lenox’s mother, Frannie, shares some of her family’s experiences and offers helpful hints to manage parenteral nutrition care at home. What are the benefits of home parenteral nutrition? Just that: being able to go home. At first, the idea of managing IV nutriti...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our patients’ stories Dr. Bram Raphael home parenteral nutrition Source Type: news