Current opinion in otolaryngology & head and neck surgery
-
Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg · Apr 2015
ReviewGastrostomy in head and neck cancer: current literature, controversies and research.
This article explores the literature on the role of gastrostomy tube feeding use in the management of head and neck cancer, with special attention to its indications, timing of insertion, advantages, complications and quality of life issues. ⋯ There remains a lack of consensus about when and which enteral feeding routes (gastrostomy or nasogastric tube) should be used and controversy about the long-term effects on swallowing function as well as quality of life for patients. Local guidelines should be used or generated to guide practice or patients enrolled into existing trials until higher level evidence is generated.