Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: indications and results

Patients requiring feeding gastrostomies are often poor risks for either laparotomy or general anesthesia. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy can be performed at the bedside by a surgeon-endoscopist and with minimal sedation. The authors performed this procedure on 45 patients ranging in age from 17 to 88 years. The procedure was indicated for neurologic disorders in 34 patients, head and neck tumours in 2, failure to thrive in 4, esophageal obstruction from lung cancer in 1 and tracheostomy for multisystem failure or trauma and sepsis in 4. In three cases the procedure could not be performed because the stomach could not be intubated. In 29 cases local anesthesia and sedation (diazepam and meperidine) were used, but in 16 cases general anesthesia with hyperventilation was preferred. The mean operative time was 32 minutes, decreasing with experience so that the current mean operative time for the last nine cases was 23 minutes. Feeding was begun on day 1 after operation in most patients and on day 2 in others. Complications included tube displacement in three patients, superficial infection at the site of the tube insertion in three (not requiring drainage or tube removal) and asymptomatic pneumoperitoneum in one patient. These complications all occurred early in the series. No patient suffered paralytic ileus, vomiting, aspiration or significant leaking around the tube. In the authors' opinion percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is the preferred method for placement of a feeding gastrostomy. It can be performed rapidly with minimal stress in high-risk patients.