Clinical results of parietal cell vagotomy and selective vagotomy with pyloroplasty in the treatment of duodenal ulcer. Two-year follow-up of a prospective randomized study.

Fifty patients were randomized in a consecutive series of parietal cell vagotomy (PCV) and selective vagotomy with pyloroplasty (SV +P) in the treatment of duodenal ulcer. There were no operative deaths, and the length of the hospital stay and time off from work were the same in both groups. The clinical results were evaluated at 1 and 2 years after operation. Within the first 3 years there were two recurrences after PCV and three after SV +P. The overall clinical result 2 years after surgery did not significantly differ between the two groups; 16/24 after PCV and 17/23 after SV +P classified as excellent results (Visick I). Significantly fewer patients had dumping after PCV (3/23) than after SV +P (13/22). No patient had diarrhoea postoperatively. It is concluded that parietal cell vagotomy gives less dumping than selective vagotomy with pyloroplasty. It is, however, too early to say whether the overall clinical result in a long-term follow-up favours PCV rather than SV +P.