Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
Gastrostomy is performed because a patient temporarily or permanently needs to be fed directly through a tube in the stomach. Reasons for feeding by gastrostomy include birth defects of the mouth, esophagus, or stomach, and neuromuscular conditions...
that cause people to eat very slowly due to the shape of their mouths or a weakness affecting their chewing and swallowing muscles.
Gastrostomy is also performed to provide drainage for the stomach when it is necessary to bypass a longstanding obstruction of the stomach outlet into the small intestine. Obstructions may be caused by peptic ulcer scarring or a tumor.
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While a colonoscopy is a procedure that uses a thin, flexible tube to view the lower gastrointestinal tract, the upper GI tract can be viewed as well. In a gastroscopy or what is more completely called an EGD (esophagogastroduodenoscopy) uses a similar scope to investigate the inside of the esophagus, stomach and first part of the small intestine.
For a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy procedure, the stomach is inflated with air (A). An incision is made into the abdomen and the stomach, and a plastic cannula is inserted (B). A catheter is inserted into the patient's mouth, pulled down the esophagus, and into the stomach (C). When the catheter is in place, access to the stomach is maintained (D). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
Other Information
Gastrostomy refers to a surgical opening into the stomach. Creation of an artificial external opening into the stomach for nutritional support or gastrointestinal compression. Typically this would include an incision in the patient's epigastrium as part of a formal operation. It can be performed through surgical approach or percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG).
The opening may be used for feeding, such as with a gastrostomy tube.
Other Information
Biliary colic is the presenting symptom in 80% of patients with gallstone disease who seek medical care; however, only 10-20% of all individuals with gallstones experience severe gallstone pain.
From: eMedicine
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