[Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Experiences with the first 10 cases in a medical department]

Enteral nutrition has many advantages over parenteral nutrition and is being increasingly used. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is performed under local anaesthesia by means of a gastroscope inserted for 15-20 minutes. From January 1993 til January 1994 we performed ten percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomies in patients suffering mainly from stroke and dysphagia. The article includes a description of the method and the results. The mean application time for the gastrostomies was 67.9 days (14-238 days). No serious complication was observed, two local wound infections were noted. It is concluded that percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is a safe and efficient method for enteral nutrition. The method seems to have few complications, is cheap and is simple to perform.