[Minimal gastrostomy: an alternative for postoperative stomach drainage]

Gastrostomy à minima. The postoperative course of a group of patients who had undergone major abdominal surgery was evaluated to show that a postoperative gastrostomy à minima can be performed in an adequate and safe manner. The patients are divided into two groups. The first group, which could be expected to need gastric decompression for only a short time, was treated by means of a classic nasogastric tube. The second group, which is composed of mostly more severe surgical procedures, received postoperative gastric decompression using a suprapubic bladder drainage catheter: Cystofix. There were no serious complications in neither group. Nevertheless patients treated by means of a nasogastric tube met with a notable subjective trouble. Therefore the gastrostomy à minima is advised after each surgical procedure which is expected to require a lasting gastric decompression.