Complete Vagotomy and its Consequences: Follow-up of 146 Patients

Abstract
Division of all vagal branches to the stomach is likely to lead to a decreased incidence of recurrent ulceration; nevertheless it does not confer an immunity from the complication. There is no evidence to suggest that completeness of vagotomy increases the incidence of undesirable side-effects after operation. Many of the poor results following vagotomy are due to defects of the drainage procedure, and a better understanding of this aspect of the problem is needed. There is no clear support for the idea that pre-operative augmented histamine tests indicate which patients are suitable for vagotomy and which are not.