Gastro'stomy

Gastro'stomy (Gr. gastēr, 'the belly or stomach;' and stoma, 'mouth'), an operation performed for the relief of stricture of gullet, to save the patient from the imminent risk of starvation by introducing food directly into the stomach through an external opening. The well-known case of Alexis St Martin, a Canadian, in whom in consequence of a gunshot wound there was a fistulous opening into the interior of his stomach, the success of operations for the removal of foreign bodies from the stomach, and numerous experiments on the lower animals, led to this attempt to save life; and when it is not delayed too long it has proved successful in a fair proportion of cases.