A Defect in Disaccharide Metabolism after Gastrojejunostomy

Abstract

THE surgical procedure of partial gastrectomy with gastrojejunostomy often creates an aftermath of problems. Two of those most frequently encountered are chronic diarrhea and failure to gain weight. Weijers et al.¹ have shown that a deficiency of sugar-splitting enzymes may cause chronic diarrhea and malnutrition in children. It is the purpose of this study to relate these problems that follow gastrojejunostomy to an inability of the patients to hydrolyze the disaccharides, lactose and sucrose.SubjectsControl subjects were divided into three groups. Ten healthy adult volunteers served as normal controls. The second group consisted of 6 patients with active duodenal . . .