COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON SEGMENTAL GASTRECTOMY WITH OR WITHOUT VAGOTOMY FOR HIGH GASTRIC ULCER IN VIEW OF LATE POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS

Abstract

A comparison was made of the long-term postoperative results of segmental gastrectomy with or without vagotomy in regard to high gastric ulcer. Forty four patients with high gastric ulcer, or 17.9% of the total number of patients, underwent digestive ulcer operations. Twenty eight patients, or 63.6%, had intractable ulcer and seven patients, or 15.9%, experienced bleeding. As chief complaints, 29, or 66.0%, suffered from precordia pain and two patients, or 4.5%, experienced left hypochondralgia. Thus, thirty one patients, or a majority of 70.5%, experienced pain of some kind. The acidity reduction rate was 50% for those patients who underwent segmental gastrectomy and 60% for those patients who underwent segmental gastrectomy with vagotomy. In both cases, five years after the operation the patients have far fewer complaints and are in satisfactory condition according to Vsick's index. The addition of the pyloroplastic operation has consequently increased the chance of dumping symptoms occurring. Three out of twenty four patients who underwent segmental gastrectomy with vagotomy experienced a recurrence of the disease, while no recurrence was observed in the patients who underwent segmental gastrectomy alone.