Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in the supermorbidly obese patient

Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, and as patients at the extremes of morbid obesity come under the care of surgeons, routine procedures may become increasingly complex in the face of greater body mass. We prospectively evaluated the success rate of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) placement in a group of morbidly obese patients outside the current classification systems used to stratify obesity.

Patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 60 kg/m2 who presented for PEG over a one year period were prospectively enrolled. Each patient underwent attempted PEG placement using the pull method by a single surgeon. Outcome variables included: successful PEG, wound infection, tube dislodgement, or bleeding.

Six patients with BMI > 60 kg/m2 presented for PEG. All patients were in a surgical critical care unit maintained on mechanical ventilation. All underwent successful PEG placement with standard techniques and sustained no post-procedural complications.

In the hands of an experienced surgical endoscopist, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy can be safely performed in patients at the extremes of morbid obesity. Future studies are warranted to validate the results of our small series.