Strategy of reduced port gastrostomy as a safe procedure for paediatric patients

Laparoscopic gastrostomy has improved surgical and cosmetic outcomes. Our approach involves a strategy of reduced port surgery, wherein only the umbilicus and tube insertion site were incised, with an additional port inserted if manipulation is difficult. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of our reduced port gastrostomy strategy.

The paediatric patients who underwent gastrostomy at our institution from July 2013 to March 2023 were reviewed retrospectively. Surgical outcomes were compared between patients who underwent reduced port gastrostomy and those who underwent multiport gastrostomy with or without fundoplication.

Of the 78 patients who underwent gastrostomy, 25 and 39 patients who underwent reduced port gastrostomy and multiport gastrostomy with or without fundoplication, respectively, were included. Five patients who underwent reduced port gastrostomy required an additional port. The operative time during gastrostomy was shorter in the multiport gastrostomy group (21.3 min vs. 17.2 min, P = 0.00). One splenic injury in the reduced port gastrostomy group and one split of the stomach in the multiport gastrostomy group occurred and were completely repaired intraoperatively. No patient required reoperation within 30 days after gastrostomy. Post-operative complications, such as infection with pus (1 vs. 2, P = 1.00), external leakage requiring nutritional management change or tube replacement (2 vs. 2, P = 0.64) and tube dislodgement (1 vs. 0, P = 0.39), were similar between the two groups.

The strategy of reduced port gastrostomy was safe and cosmetically favourable compared with multiport gastrostomy.