[Antroduodenal motility and pH changes after partial gastrectomy including the pacemaker region of the dog's stomach]

Functional alterations of antroduodenal motility are not well defined at present. The gastric pacemaker is located at the greater curvature, next to the fundus.

The aim was to evaluate the influence of the gastric pacemaker on the gastroduodenal motility in dogs.

The study was designed in three steps and performed with 20 dogs: first, construction of a cervical esophagostomy to measure the antroduodenal motility and gastric pH-metry as validation step. The manometry was performed by means of a six point electronic manometry probe and both manometry and pH-metry were recorded during 4 hours. Second, the stomach's pacemaker region and gastric reservoir were resected by videolaparoscopy. Third, the antroduodenal motility and gastric pH-metry were measured again.

In the validation step, there was established a typical dogs' antroduodenal motility pattern, with a three-shaped interdigestive motility complex (IMC) (phases 1 to 3); the gastric pH-metry showed a baseline at pH 1,15. After partial gastric resection, overall there was an increase in contractions' frequency, an increase in phase 2 and a decrease in phase 3 participation on the IMC's. Regarding the gastric pH measurements, there was an increase in pH intervals 0-1 and 1-2 and a decrease in pH intervals 6-7; overall, there was a decrease in the stomach's pH and a decrease in the prandial time.

The resection of the stomach's pacemaker region and gastric reservoir correlated with alterations in antroduodenal motility, maintaining however the typical IMC pattern.