# US 10,946,179 B2 · Gastrostomy tube reinsertion device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,946,179 B2 - Document ID: US10946179B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/331,523 - Filed: 2017-08-04 - Published: 2019-07-04 - Granted: 2021-03-16 - Earliest claimed: 2016-09-08 - Applicants: Adolfo Napolez - Inventors: Adolfo Napolez - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10946179B2 ## CPC - A61M 29/00: Dilators with or without means for introducing media, e.g. remedies - A61B 17/3415: {for introducing tubes or catheters, e.g. gastrostomy tubes, drain catheters (A61B17/3417 takes precedence; body piercing catheter guide needles A61M25/06)} - A61J 15/0015: {Gastrostomy feeding-tubes (insertion tools or methods A61B17/34)} - A61M 2205/0222: Materials for reducing friction - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61J: CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGING PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL OR ADMINISTERING FORMS; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; BABY COMFORTERS; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE ## Abstract The invention disclosed herein is a gastrostomy tube reinsertion device. The present invention provides a dilation device for dilating the gastrostomy tube tract in living tissues. In one aspect, the gastrostomy tube reinsertion device comprises multiple dilators to open collapsed soft tissue within the gastrostomy tube tract. Such device is useful for reinserting a gastrostomy tube into the previously defined tract in a human body, even after partial closure of the tract and gastrostomy tube insertion site. In another aspect, the present invention provides the method or steps for reinserting a gastrostomy tube into a patient. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A dilation gastrostomy tube reinsertion device for progressive dilation of a gastrostomy tube tract in living tissue of a mammalian body comprising: a first dilator having a flange to prevent complete insertion of the first dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery, and a closed distal end, the closed distal end having a rounded blunt tip; a second dilator being separate and independent of the first dilator and having a flange to prevent complete insertion of the second dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery greater than said periphery of the first dilator, and a closed distal end, the closed distal end having a rounded blunt tip; and a third dilator being separate and independent of the first dilator and second dilator and having a hollow interior and a flange to prevent complete insertion of the dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery greater than the peripheries of the first and second dilators, an open distal end having a rounded blunt tip with an opening sufficient to allow a gastrostomy tube to pass through the rounded blunt tip, and serrated edges extending from the open distal end to the flange on two sides of the third dilator to allow for separation. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the first dilator is 3 mm in diameter, the second dilator is 5 mm in diameter, and the third dilator is 8 mm in diameter. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein each flange is 3 cm in length and 2 mm thick. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein each dilator is between approximately 3 cm and 5 cm in length. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein each dilator is 5 cm in length. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the wall of each dilator is approximately 1 mm in thickness. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein each dilator is a flexible silicone product. ### Claim 8 A gastrostomy tube reinsertion kit comprising: a first dilator having a flange to prevent complete insertion of the dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery, and a closed distal end, the closed distal end having a tapered rounded blunt tip; a second dilator being separate and independent of the first dilator and having a flange to prevent complete insertion of the dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery greater than said periphery of the first dilator, and a closed distal end, the closed distal end having a tapered rounded blunt tip; and a third dilator being separate and independent of the first dilator and second dilator and having a hollow interior and a flange to prevent complete insertion of the dilator into the body, an outer surface having a periphery greater than said periphery of the first and second dilators, an open distal end having a rounded blunt tip with an opening sufficient to allow a gastrostomy tube to pass through the rounded blunt tip, and serrated edges extending from the open distal end to the flange on two sides of the third dilator to allow for separation. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The gastrostomy tube reinsertion kit of claim 8, further comprising a gastrostomy tube.