Pericutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy for Patients with Head and Neck Tumors.

Pericutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) was initially introduced in 1980, and has been applied to feed patients with cerebrovascular diseases.Head and neck tumors and operations for such diseases often cause swallowing problems. Gastric tube insertion has been the most common method to resolve such conditions. However, several disadvantages such as necessity of frequent exchange of the tube, and gastroesophageal refiux have been reported. Intravenous hyper-alimentation is also a common strategy to feed patients. However, infections sometimes occur.We report here, our findings using PEG for patients with head and neck tumors pre- or postoperatively. We recommend PEG as a useful method to provide good nutrition to patients with swallowing disturbance.