The History of the PEG

During surgical residency in the 1970s, residents were on call 36 hours on and 12 hours off for 5 years.

In 1974, the chairman of gastroenterology at University Hospital refused to allow a surgical resident to train in endoscopy, stating surgeons would not touch endoscopes at the institution.

Dr. Ponsky completed approximately 500 endoscopy cases during a 5-6 month training period in Canton, Ohio.

Upon returning from endoscopy training, the chief of gastroenterology again refused to allow Dr. Ponsky to train residents or perform endoscopy at the institution.

Dr. Ponsky's mother-in-law purchased an endoscope as a Hanukkah present, which he stored in his car trunk along with a light source.

By the end of residency, Dr. Ponsky was performing most of the private endoscopies at University Hospital.

Dr. Michael Gauderer, a pediatric surgeon, observed transillumination through an infant's abdominal wall during a procedure and proposed developing a simpler gastrostomy method.

The PEG tube device was constructed using a modified rubber pezzer (mushroom) catheter with one end modified to act as a dilator, and a medicut IV catheter to puncture the abdominal wall.