Emergency gastric resection for bleeding and perforation.

Abstract

1. Acute Massive Hemorrhage Previous reports have been publicized of the records of all patients who underwent elective gastric resections for duodenal and gastric peptic ulcers at the Presbyterian Hospital in New York.1,2In addition, 192 emergency gastric resections were performed, in the years 1941 through 1959, for acute massive hemorrhage from gastric or duodenal ulcers, and 15 for massive bleeding from other lesions such as jejunal ulcers or gastritis without a recognized ulcer. Before 1941, the few operations performed for acute massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage usually consisted of attempts to ligate the point of bleeding. The founding of the blood bank in the hospital, in 1939, undoubtedly contributed to the change in operative approach. No attempt is made in this report to define precisely the terms acute massive hemorrhage or emergency resection. None of the 192 patients was operated on during the planned operating room schedule, except a few