2014 Volume 85 Issue 1 Pages 74-75
An 87-year-old woman who had been receiving enteral feeding through a gastrostomy tube was brought to our hospital with the complaints of vomiting and hematemesis. Abdominal computed tomography revealed dislocation of the inflated balloon of the gastrostomy tube into the duodenum. A subsequent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed that the inflated gastrostomy tube balloon had translocated to the duodenal bulb, obstructing the pylorus like a ball valve. In addition, a hemorrhagic gastric ulcer, possibly caused by the mechanical stress of the tube, was also observed. Prompt deflation of the balloon and replacement of the gastrostomy tube relieved the patient’s symptoms dramatically. In this case, dislocation of the tubing balloon not only resulted in obstruction of the gastric outlet, but also induced gastric ulceration due to mechanical friction caused by the tube. It is concluded that ball-valve syndrome caused by a displaced inflated balloon is a rare, but important, complication in patients receiving enteral feeding though a gastrostomy tube.
