Novel treatment of gastric outlet obstruction secondary to incarcerated inguinal hernia: percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube

Abstract

A 93-year-old man presented with gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) secondary to a massive left inguinal hernia with incarcerated antrum. He reported a desire to avoid operative intervention, and given his comorbidities, such an operation carried high risk for perioperative complications. As such, we offered percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement, as this would allow intermittent decompression of the stomach to reduce the risk of obstruction and strangulation. He tolerated the procedure well and was discharged after several days of observation. He continues to do well at regular outpatient appointments. Although rare, GOO secondary to an incarcerated inguinal hernia is most likely to occur in a patient such as ours: elderly, comorbid and at high risk for perioperative complications. To our knowledge, this is the first documented case to be treated with a PEG tube, which can be a desirable and effective option in this subset of patients.