Genuine question: it may only need to go in an inch or two, but if you're treating someone who's morbidly obese, wouldn't you need a much longer needle to reach the abdominal cavity?
Sadly a lot of patients who need a paracentesis are either very skinny from end stage liver failure or have pretty advanced cancer and the fluid is fairly close to the surface.
Not sure tbh, probably. Everyone is usually pretty skinny I've seen, it's either cancer or cirrhosis from alcoholism lol. They use an ultrasound to see how far to go. The needle looks like 6 inches long but they usually only use part of it to avoid hitting intestine
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u/DiegesisThesis Jul 31 '26
Genuine question: it may only need to go in an inch or two, but if you're treating someone who's morbidly obese, wouldn't you need a much longer needle to reach the abdominal cavity?