Granulation Tissue Treatment: Silver Nitrate vs Kenalog vs Washcloth Abrasion

Overview

Granulation tissue, or excess tissue, forms around gastrostomy tube sites and is a common problem seen in the pediatric surgery population. There is no standard treatment that has been identified in clinical practice to treat granulation tissue effectively. Clinicians prescribe treatments of varying nature to help treat this condition. By conducting this study, the investigators hope to identify if there is any difference in the treatment groups and if there is any superiority for one treatment over the other. The three arms in the study are Silver Nitrate treatment, treatment with Kenalog, and Washcloth abrasion. Treatments will continue over a period of three weeks, and the progress will be followed using surveys and photographs.

Hypergranulation tissue surrounding gastrostomy tube sites in pediatric patients is a significant problem. This tissue may cause drainage or bleeding that bothers patients and parents. Numerous methods of treatment are used for treatment of hypergranulation tissue, but no data exists to support one method of treatment over another. The investigators plan to perform a prospective randomized trial of three different therapies (silver nitrate cauterization, topical kenalog, and soap cloth abrasion) to identify the best treatment modality. Participants will be followed via office visit at four and eight weeks after initiation of therapy. Measurements of the granulation tissue and photographs will be obtained pre treatment and at each post treatment visit. In addition parents will be asked to fill out a pre and post treatment survey regarding improvement in symptoms. Investigators plan to enroll 120 patients total with the intention of having 40 participants in each group.