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Published on: October 14, 2022
Percutaneous decompression of the bowel with a small-caliber needle: a method to facilitate percutaneous abdominal
Sheldon Wiebe1, Justine Cohen, Bairbre Connolly
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, 555 University Ave., Toronto, ON M5G 1X8, Canada.
Objective:
In our pediatric interventional practice, we have found that occasionally a loop of bowel is interposed between the stomach and the anterior wall of the abdomen, preventing safe needle access for procedures such as placement of a gastrostomy tube. The use of a small-caliber needle to aspirate air from the colon or small bowel, for bowel decompression, may be a safe way to aid in establishing a safe access route for the subsequent percutaneous introduction of larger needles or tubes.
Conclusion:
Our retrospective review of patients who have undergone bowel-gas aspiration during an interventional procedure shows that the aspiration of air from the colon with a small-caliber needle is technically easy and may permit completion of an abdominal procedure.
