METASTASIS OF HYPOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA INTO THE GASTROSTOMY TRACT AFTER PLACEMENT OF A PERCUTANEOUS ENDOSCOPIC GASTROSTOMY CATHETER

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy catheters are frequently placed in patients with pharyngeal tumors. In this article, we report a patient with a metastasis of a large hypopharyngeal carcinoma in the gastrost omy tract, probably caused by placement of a percutaneous endoscopic g astrostomy catheter by the pull method. The metastasis decreased consi derably in size after high-dose radiation therapy (as had the original hypopharyngeal tumor). The patient subsequently had a curative resect ion of the residual metastatic tumor, but one month after the operatio n he died of a cerebrovascular accident.