Partial Gastrectomy versus Vagotomy with Gastroenterostomy in Treatment of Duodenal Ulcer

Introduction The relative merits of partial gastrectomyvs. vagotomy with gastroenterostomy in the definitive surgical treatment of duodenal ulcer remain a controversial subject at the present time. During the period 1946-1954, a total of 348 patients with duodenal ulcers were subjected to partial gastrectomy (Billroth II type) and 178 patients with duodenal ulcers were subjected to vagotomy with gastroenterostomy on the surgical services of the Hines Veterans' Administration Hospital and the University of Illinois Research and Educational Hospital. It is the purpose of this paper to present the findings noted in a comparative evaluation of these two groups of patients. Age Distribution The age distributions of the two groups of patients are tabulated in Table 1. The percentage of patients in each decade was roughly comparable for the two types of operation. Although vagotomy with gastroenterostomy was utilized in five of six patients 70 years of age or older, the