Percutaneous radiological gastrostomy in patients with head and neck cancer

Aim: To evaluate the results of percutaneous radiological gastrostomy in patients with head and neck cancer. Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study design. One hundred and eighteen patients with head and. neck cancer were referred 130 times for gastrostomy tube placement between 1 April 1993 and 17 August 1998. Mean age was 60 years. All data were analysed by using the following parameters: success rate, complications and mortality. Complications were divided into major, minor (complication that needed only conservative treatment) and tube-related. Results: The success rate of percutaneous radiological gastrostomy was 97%. Major complications occurred in 6% of patients after gastrostomy tube placement. Minor complications occurred in 15% of patients. There was one tube-related complication. Procedure-related mortality occurred in one patient. The results of this study show no difference from those known from the literature for the percutaneous method and confirm that radiological gastrostomy has significantly lower rates of major complications than other methods of gastrostomy placement. Conclusion: Percutaneous radiological gastrostomy tube placement is, in our opinion, an effective and reliable method for placing a feeding tube in patients with head and neck cancer. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.