Spontaneous healing of duodenal ulcers.

Ninety-one patients with duodenal, pyloric, or prepyloric ulcers were studied endoscopically. Spontaneous ulcer healing was seen in 29 patients within 2 weeks (rapid healing) and in 23 patients within 6 weeks (slow healing). More ulcers healed spontaneously in women than in men (P less than 0.

Basal and meat extract plasma gastrin before and after parietal cell vagotomy and selective gastric vagotomy with drainage in patients with duodenal ulcer.

Basal and meat extract stimulated plasma gastrin (PG) levels and basal and stimulated gastric acid secretion were evaluated pre and postoperatively in duodenal ulcer patients who underwent parietal cell vagotomy without antral drainage (normal duodena) (PC, n=32) or selective vagotomy with drainage (pyloric stenosis) (SV +P, n=11). Before operation, both groups had comparable basal PG values of 52+/-13 pg/ml (PCVP) AND 51+/-18 PG/ML (SV+P), while the peak gastrin level to meat extract stimulation was 173+/-40 pg/ml for the total group of patients. After both operations basal PG levels increased (107+/-18 pg/ml (PCV) and 152+/-45 pg/ml (SV+P) and the gastrin response to meat extract stimulation was augmented after PCV, while the response after SV+P was the same as before operation.

Accidents and complications in selective and proximal gastric vagotomy.

In 3 years 266 consecutive patients were electively operated on for ulcer disease with either selective vagotomy (SV) with drainage (159) or proximal gastric vagotomy (PGV) without drainage (107). The total number of operative accidents was 15 (6 percent), similar to that of truncal vagotomy. Perforation of the stomach occurred in six SV and in one PGV.