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The Effect of Surgery and Posture on the Pattern and Rate of Gastric Emptying
Author(s) -
HulmeMoir I.,
Donnan S. P. B.,
McAlister J.,
McColl I.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1973.tb05680.x
Subject(s) - gastric emptying , supine position , medicine , pyloroplasty , vagotomy , billroth i , surgery , position (finance) , stomach , anesthesia , gastrectomy , finance , cancer , economics
A method is described for measuring gastric emptying in the erect and supine positions using a scintiscanner and a radioactive meal. The pattern of emptying after surgery is irregular. Emptying rates up to ten times the normal were recorded after fluid meals with the patient in the erect posture following the various types of operation studied. The mean rale of emptying after Billroth II and vagotomy and pyloroplasty operations exceeded that following Billroth I operations. After the last‐mentioned procedures it did not significantly differ from normal. Whenever rapid emptying of fluids occurred, it was dependent on posture and was markedly slowed if the patient was in the supine position. After solid meals, gastric emptying in the erect position was more rapid than in the supine in the unoperated stomach and also after vagotomy and drainage. However, there was no augmentation of the postural effect by surgery.