Percutaneous drainage and feeding gastrostomies in 100 patients.

Percutaneous gastrostomy was performed in 100 cancer patients. In 67 patients with bowel obstruction, the procedure was performed for gastric drainage with 24-28-F Malecot catheters inserted in one sitting. The remaining 33 patients had supragastric obstructions or fistulas and required 10-14-F pigtail catheters for feeding purposes. Average postgastrostomy hospitalization was 3.6 days. Drainage gastrostomies were ready for use immediately after the procedure, whereas use of feeding gastrostomies started on average within 2 days of tube insertion. There were no major complications or deaths related to the procedure. Percutaneous gastrostomy is a simple and safe procedure even when large-caliber catheters are used, and it does not require gastric fixation to the abdominal wall to prevent spillage into the peritoneum.