title: Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy as a standard procedure in head and neck surgery.
abstract: Adequate nutritional support is essential in patients with head and neck cancer, especially if extended oropharyngeal surgery is indicated. Enteral nutrition is an effective and safe alternative to parenteral nutrition, but the use of nasogastric tubes has several disadvantages in these patients. We describe our experience with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy as a standard procedure prior to surgical resection in patients with head and neck cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Roukema
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: van der Werken
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Juttmann
mesh_terms: D004750:Enteral Nutrition; D005774:Gastrostomy / Q000379:methods*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans