Gastric emptying of liquid meals after anterior gastric stapling and posterior truncal vagotomy in beagle dogs: discrepancy with results for solid food.
OBJECTIVE
Since the development of highly selective vagotomy (HSV), simplified procedures such as posterior truncal vagotomy with anterior gastric wall stapling (PTV-AGS) became available to achieve parietal cell denervation. The purpose of this investigation was to detect possible gastric emptying disturbances due to complete vagotomy of the posterior gastric wall and to stapling of the anterior stomach wall.


METHODS
Six female dogs, undergoing HSV, were compared with six others, in which PTV-AGS was performed. Radionuclide labeled liquid test meals were used to evaluate gastric emptying rate (GER) and results were compared with solid test meal emptying.


RESULTS
A small, statistically insignificant fastening of liquid gastric emptying was seen early after HSV, as well as after PTV-AGS, and persisted one year after operation. There proved to be a striking lack of correlation between the GER-results after liquid versus solid meals.


CONCLUSIONS
Just as after HSV, gastric emptying rates of liquid meals after PTV-AGS do not show a statistical difference as compared with preoperative values. Both operations therefore do not induce clinically important gastric motility changes. Separate test meals with liquid and solid food prove to be necessary in order to detect such changes.
Mistiaen
W
W
Department of Surgical Research, University of Antwerp-UIA.
Van Hee
R
R
Blockx
P
P
D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005746:Gastric Emptying; D013270:Stomach / Q000601:surgery*; D017792:Surgical Stapling; D014629:Vagotomy, Proximal Gastric