Controlled Trial of Vagotomy and Gastro-enterostomy, Vagotomy and Antrectomy, and Subtotal Gastrectomy in Elective Treatment of Duodenal Ulcer: Interim Report

Abstract

Until fairly recently, like many other clinicians in this country, we accepted so-called subtotal gastric resection, despite its defects, as the procedure of choice in the elective surgical treatment of duodenal ulcer. But some four and a half years ago, influenced by the tremendous resurgence of interest in vagotomy in the management of this condition in America and Britain, we decided that we ought to reconsider this latter operation. However, we felt that if we were going to take it up we should make a serious attempt to evaluate it in one or more of its combinations against the hitherto standard operation of high partial gastrectm . Accordingly we instituted a controlled clinical trial, the essential features of which were that patients with duodenal ulcer were allotted in random fashion to the different operations, and that a very careful and uniform follow-up system was maintained subsequently.