Recovery of Gastric Acid after Vagotomy with and without a Drainage

Abstract

This study tests the possibility that the difference in acid reduction after parietal cell vagotomy (PCV) and selective gastric vagotomy with a drainage (SGV + D) could be explained by differences in the secretion recovered rather than by real secretory differences. A method for estimating the completeness of aspiration during gastric function tests using the isotope Nai₂⁵¹CrO₄ as an inert marker is described. The method was used in patients with the two types of vagotomy and the recovery of gastric secretion was more complete after PCV (89.7%) than after SGV + D (75.1%). This difference may substantially account for the apparent difference in reduction of acid secretion after the two operations. The pyloroplasty supplementing the SGV is probably responsible for a pyloric loss causing a lower recovery after this operation.