Mortality associated with feeding catheter jejunostomy after radical cystectomy

Twenty-five patients undergoing cystectomy and diversion for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and 8 patients having major surgery for renal and testes neoplasms and trauma have received needle jejunostomy placement at the time of surgery. One patient died secondary to vascular collapse. Postmortem examination revealed necrosis of the entire small bowel except the conduit segment. The implications of these findings are discussed.