Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in patients with head and neck cancer.

A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) was performed in 19 patients with cancers of head or neck. A commercially available gastrostomy set was used, but slight modifications were necessary in 4 patients. No serious complications were observed. The correct position and lack of any leak of gastric contents was verified by fluoroscopy in each case. These results confirm the experience of other groups, showing that the present technique of the PEG is reasonably safe and easy to perform.