Removal of Nasogastric Tube Accidentally Stitched to Roux-en-Y Oesophagojejunostomy Following a Radical Gastrectomy for Stomach Cancer: Case report and review of the literature

• Main Authors: Ayman Z. Azzam, Kareem A. Azzam, Tarek Amin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sultan Qaboos University 2018-04-01
• Series: Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal
• Subjects: enteral nutrition; gastrointestinal intubation; roux-en-y anastomosis; gastrectomy; case report; saudi arabia.
• Online Access: https://journals.squ.edu.om/index.php/squmj/article/view/2534

Nasogastric tubes (NGTs) are important for feeding, stenting and decompression after gastrointestinal surgeries, particularly in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Resistance in the removal of a NGT is a rare surgical complication and may be due to a knot in the tube or a stitch anchoring the tube to an anastomosis. We report a 41-year-old male patient who was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2015 with stomach cancer. He underwent a radical total gastrectomy with a Roux-en-Y oesophagojejunostomy. One week after the surgery, removal of the NGT was attempted; however, this was very difficult and the proximal end of the tube was cut off as a temporary measure. Six weeks later, an upper gastrointestinal tract endoscopy revealed that the distal end of the NGT had been accidentally stitched to the Roux-en-Y oesophagojejunostomy. The stitch was removed and the rest of the NGT was successfully extracted using a snare.