Risk of developing cholelithiasis after vagotomy.

Abstract

As the vagotomy coupled with pyloroplasty is becoming increasingly popular in recent years as operation of choice for gastric and duodenal ulcer, it becomes important to determine whether or not gallstone incidence increases after vagotomy. Dog gallbladder bile can hold additional cholesterol than is normally present. It is this additional cholesterol holding capacity of bile which is responsible for the dissolution of human gallstones inserted in dog gallbladder. Therefore dissolution of human gallstones in dog gallbladder can in turn be used to indicate the extent of cholesterol unsaturation in dog gallbladder bile. In the present communication human gallstone inserted in dog gallbladder is found to become less soluble after vagotomy and change of bile composition after vagotomy seems to indicate that higher incidence of gallstone can be expected. Possible factors responsible for the change of bile composition after vagotomy is discussed.