title: Long-term results of highly selective vagotomy for the treatment of duodenal ulcer.
abstract: Between 1971 and 1987, highly selective vagotomy (HSV) was carried out in 984 patients suffering from duodenal ulcer disease. In 97.3% of these cases, the surgical intervention was uncomplicated, the related mortality being 0.3%. During the follow-up period the postoperative condition of the patients was checked once a year wherever possible; in 92.3%, follow-up was continued until december 1987, the maximum period of postoperative follow-up being 16 years. No prognostically reliable indication of the risk of ulcer recurrence was obtained from an analysis of gastric juice. In 79.1% of the cases who underwent surgery, the result was good to satisfactory, while 11.7% had functional complaints such as dumping or diarrhea. The probability of developing a recurrent ulcer within 16 years after the initial operation was 29.7%. This rate of recurrence is determined among other things, by the discovery of clinically quiescent ulcers during the yearly follow-up examinations, when these are performed carefully, and over a sufficiently long period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Cologne.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raab
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Said
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Hilgers
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pichlmaier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004381:Duodenal Ulcer / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D014629:Vagotomy, Proximal Gastric