Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Indications and follow-up in 30 patients]

The indications and results of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) were reviewed in 30 consecutive patients, most of whom had problems of deglutition secondary to the treatment of ENT neoplasia. The procedure was successful in all patients but some difficulty was encountered in 4 cases. There were no major complications or fatalities. The benign complications were all amenable to medical therapy and did not require ablation of the gastric tube. In general, PGE was well tolerated and an easy to use method of nutritional assistance, allowing most patients to gain weight. In the authors' experience, this technique has an important role to play in the nutritional assistance of patients with problems of deglutition due to neurological disease or ENT neoplasia. The relative innocuity of PEG gives it a great advantage over surgical gastrostomy.