Indications
Gastrostomy may be indicated in numerous situations, usually those in which normal or nutrition (or nasogastric) feeding is impossible. The causes for these situations may be neurological (e.g. stroke), anatomical (e.g. cleft lip and palate during the process of correction) or other (e.g. radiation therapy for tumors in head & neck region).
In certain situations where normal or nasogastric feeding is not possible, gastrostomy may be of no clinical benefit. In advanced dementia, studies show that PEG placement does not in fact prolong life. Quality improvement protocols have been developed with the aim of reducing the number of non-beneficial gastrostomies in patients with dementia.
A gastrostomy can be placed to decompress the stomach contents in a patient with a malignant bowel obstruction. This is referred to as a "venting PEG" and is placed to prevent and manage nausea and vomiting.
A gastrostomy can also be used to treat volvulus of the stomach, where the stomach twists along one of its axes. The tube (or multiple tubes) is used for gastropexy, or adhering the stomach to the abdominal wall, preventing twisting of the stomach.
A PEG tube can be used in providing gastric or post-surgical drainage.
Read more about this topic: Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy
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