Laser laparoscopic vagotomy and pyloromyotomy.

We performed bilateral truncal vagotomy and gastric drainage procedure using standard laparoscopic instruments in five mongrel dogs. The procedure consisted of a transthoracic thoracoscopic bilateral truncal vagotomy and transperitoneal laparoscopic pyloromyotomy. A contact Nd:YAG laser fiber was used. There was no mortality, minimal morbidity, and post-operative gastric emptying was satisfactory. Pathologic studies indicated vagotomy was complete. We believe that this may be the initial step in the development of a simple, safe, and effective endoscopic procedure for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease.