New technique for enterostomy of extremely low-birth-weight infants--intestinal anchoring with gauze.

BACKGROUND

In enterostomy for extremely low-birth-weight infants (<1000 g), the technique of anchoring the intestine for a stoma to the abdominal wall is very difficult because of the small size and fragile nature of the intestine. Here we describe a novel technique for intestinal anchoring in such infants.

METHODS

In our approach to enterostomy, the intestine is anchored only by a strip of gauze packed into the subcutaneous space. No suturing is performed. The efficacy of this technique was evaluated in 21 infants with less than 1000 g of body weight who have intestinal perforation or obstruction.

RESULTS

Two patients (9.5%) had complications that were related to the enterostomy. The complications were parastomal and intrastomal intestinal prolapse, both of which were treated successfully by reoperation. Eighteen patients (86%) survived to closure of the enterostoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Intestinal anchoring with gauze is an easy and effective technique for enterostomy in extremely low-birth-weight infants and can be applied in selected cases.