Early reoperations after surgery for duodenal ulcer.

To assess the incidence of early, severe, and life-threatening complications demanding early reintervention following surgery for duodenal ulcer--initial or reoperative--2579 patients who underwent elective surgery, 2472 as an initial approach and 107 as a reintervention, are presented in this study. Twenty-three patients underwent early reoperation after initial surgery for duodenal ulcer and ten patients out of the 107 required reoperation for severe late postoperative complications. The overall incidence of early reoperation was 1 per cent (33 patients) and there was an incidence rate of .6 per cent after initial surgery versus 9.8 per cent after reoperative surgery (P less than 0.001). It is concluded that reoperative surgery for late complications following initial surgery for duodenal ulcer carries a high incidence rate for complications which warrant early reintervention. It is believed that reduction in the incidence of late complications following initial surgery for duodenal ulcer should simultaneously result in a reduction in the demand for early reoperation which is associated with a considerable mortality and morbidity rate.