Doctors from Da Nang’s Family Hospital have successfully performed a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on a 52-year-old man from Ngu Hanh Son District’s My An Ward.

This was the first time that this type of surgical technique has been carried out in a local private hospital.

Earlier, the patient had been admitted to the hospital due to swallowing problems, weight loss and exhaustion over the previous month.  He was diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma and multifocal tumours in his liver. The doctors warned that his case would have proved fatal if they had not treated him promptly.

A doctor examining the patient (Source: cadn.com.vn)

According to the doctors from the hospital, the technique proved very effective in this case, and the patient is now gradually recovering.  He is expected to be discharged from the hospital in the next few days.

A percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is the insertion of a tube into a patient’s stomach through the abdominal wall, most commonly to provide a means of feeding when oral intake is not adequate.  This technique is the most commonly used method of nutritional support for patients who need help maintaining their body habitus ready for cancer treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The cost of the surgery is reasonable, with the operation usually taking between 15 and 30 minutes, and the success rate is relatively high.