IN 1943 Dragstedt & Owens changed the established surgical treatment for chronic duodenal ulceration by re-introducing the operation of vagotomy. It was rapidly recognized that, together with vagotomy, a gastric drainage procedure of some type was essential (Dragstedt & Schafer, 1945). In its early years, vagotomy and drainage rapidly gained in popularity on the basis of simplicity and the low ...

The influence on the concentrating ability of the gall bladder after extrinsic denervation was studied in anaesthetised cats, previously subjected to truncal vagotomy and/or coeliacectomy , and compared with sham operated controls. Net water absorption was studied by perfusion techniques. Acute experiments were performed under basal conditions and alpha-adrenoceptor stimulation (intra-arterial ...

Acetylcholine, the parasympathetic neurotransmitter, shortens the action potential duration of cat atrial muscle cells, but not ventricular muscle cells. In mammalian species, atrial tissue receives a richer cholinergic nerve supply than ventricular tissue. To determine whether chronic withdrawal of cholinergic tone might influence the subsequent response of these tissues to cholinergic stimula...

Because vagal and sympathetic inputs activate upper cervical spinal neurons, we hypothesized that stimulation of the esophagus would activate C(1)-C(2) neurons. This study examined responses of C(1)-C(2) spinal neurons to cervical and thoracic esophageal distension (CED, TED) and afferent pathways for CED and TED inputs to C(1)-C(2) spinal neurons. Extracellular potentials of single C(1)-C(2) s...

The role of the vagus nerve concerning the reflex control of respiration has been more clarified with the elaboration of Pitts et al.(1), and a new account for the repetitive discharge of the respiratory center was attempted by these investigators. However, as the total pulmonary ventilation after vagotomy does not, as a rule, undergo any marked change though the animals would breathe slowly an...

Although vagotomy combined with gastric drainage is now a well-established procedure in the surgical treatment of duodenal ulcer, it has been suggested by a number of authorities that it is contraindicated in those cases which are complicated by pyloric stenosis (Moore, Chapman, Schulz, and Jones, 1947; Bergin and Jordan, 1959; Kraft, Fry, and DeWeese, 1964; Mialaret, 1964; Capper, 1965.) After...

To improve surgical results of duodenal ulcer, transgastric myotomy (TGM) was added to the traditional selective proximal vagotomy (SPV) and its efficacy was evaluated clinically in 40 patients. 35 men and 5 women were involved, with a mean age of 33.07 +/- 14.25 years. Pyloroplasty was added in 12 operations for stenosis and perforation. 28 patients in this series underwent TGM with SPV withou...

We describe a case of gastroparesis after laparoscopic highly selective anterior and posterior truncal vagotomy in a 30-yr-old male with gastric ulcer disease. Motility studies confirmed the diagnosis, and a pancreatic polypeptide sham feeding study suggested that a complete vagotomy may have been inadvertently performed. The experience with this procedure in gastric ulcer disease is extremely ...

Twenty-four hour intragastric pH during normal daily activity has been studied by nasogastric intubation and aspiration of gastric samples in seven patients four years after vagotomy (four truncal, three selective). Two of these patients also had pre- and early postoperative studies. Mean pH was inversely correlated with basal, insulin- and pentagastrin-stimulated acid outputs. However, one of ...

Impaired gastric accommodation and gastric dysrhythmia are common in gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia. Recent studies have shown that synchronized gastric electrical stimulation (SGES) accelerates gastric emptying and enhances antral contractions in dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanism of SGES on gastric accommodation and slow waves impaired by vagotomy...