title: Is preservation of the celiac branch of the vagal nerve effective in preventing stasis following pylorus-preserving gastrectomy?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) is performed as a function preserving surgery, patients sometimes suffer from postoperative stasis of the gastric contents after the procedure. Preservation of blood flow and both celiac and pyloric branches of the vagal nerve may decrease the incidence of the stasis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who underwent PPG at the Cancer Institute Hospital between April 2005 and December 2007 were included in the study. Early surgical results and the incidence of stasis were investigated and compared between patients in whom the celiac branch had been preserved (PPG-CBP group) and those in whom it had not (PPG-nCBP group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients in the PPG-nCBP group had a higher body mass index than patients in the PPG-CBP group (23.9 vs. 22.3 kg/m2; p=0.004), as well as a longer operation time (249.3 vs. 227.0 min; p=0.010). There was no significant difference in the incidence of stasis between the groups (13% vs. 8%; p=0.523).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was no correlation between preservation of the celiac branch and the incidence of stasis in the first 30 days after PPG. A large randomized control trial investigating both short- and long-term outcomes after PPG is required to elucidate the primary cause of postoperative stasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hiki
authors.forename: Tetsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukunaga
authors.forename: Shigekazu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohyama
authors.forename: Souya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nunobe
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011708:Pylorus / Q000601:surgery*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000601:surgery*