[Value of gastrostomy in the prevention of food inhalation]

Gastrostomy can have both a preventive and curative effect for patients particularly exposed to food inhaling, especially the heavy casualties with loss of initial consciousness and prolonged intubation or tracheotomy. In these patients stopping the forcible feeding led to frequent mishaps and to recurrent pulmonary complications. Gastrostomy prevents them while enabling the seriously injured patients to receive 2.500 calories daily. These cases showed the different circumstances where gastrostomy done rapidly under L. A. and with assisted ventilation gave good results.