Ultrasound can facilitate percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube insertion in the non-transilluminated abdominal wall

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), firstly described in 1980s, is an enteral nutrition route that is used for long-term nutrition in patients who cannot be fed by mouth for various reasons but have no gastrointestinal disturbance. It is inserted percutaneously into the stomach with the aid of an endoscope. However the light of the scope may not be seen in some patients due to some reasons (obesity, prior operations). In this case it is not safe to send the needle through the abdominal wall. Ultrasound can facilitate the procedure and also reduce the adjacent organ injury.