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THORACOSCOPIC VAGOTOMY FOR RECURRENT ULCER AFTER PREVIOUS GASTRIC OPERATION
Author(s) -
Poon Ronnie,
Chow Louis,
Lim Boon,
Gertsch Phillip
Publication year - 1997
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.1445-2197.1997.tb01935.x
Subject(s) - medicine , vagotomy , asymptomatic , helicobacter pylori , surgery , endoscopy , peptic ulcer , gastroenterology , stomach
Background : Recurrent peptic ulcer after previous gastric operation is a difficult surgical problem and abdominal re‐operation is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and recurrence rate. Methods : The authors report on five patients with recurrent ulcers who, after previous gastric operation, were treated with thoracoscopic vagotomy. Results : All patients tolerated the procedure well without complications, and the median hospital stay was 5 days. Endoscopy confirmed healing of the ulcers in all patients. Pre‐operative and postoperative gastric acid studies showed a significant postoperative reduction in both basal and maximal acid output ( P < 0.05). In a follow‐up period of 18–33 months, one patient had a recurrent ulcer presenting with bleeding. Gastric biopsy revealed presence of Helicobacter pylori and repeated gastroscopy after a course of H. pylori eradication treatment showed a healed ulcer. The other four patients were asymptomatic. Conclusions : We conclude that thoracoscopic vagotomy is a simple and safe procedure for the treatment of recurrent ulcers after previous gastric operation, but the long‐term results need further assessment.