Comparison of minimal and conventional surgery in patients with bleeding peptic ulcer: a multicentre trial

A multicentre randomized prospective trial compared minimal surgery (under-running the vessel or ulcer excision and adjuvant ranitidine) with conventional ulcer surgery (vagotomy and pyloroplasty or partial gastrectomy) for the treatment of bleeding peptic ulcer. This report is based on 137 patients (eight withdrawn through misdiagnosis or lost data), of whom 62 received conservative surgery and 67 conventional operation. Twenty-nine patients died, 16 (26 per cent) after conservative surgery and 13 (19 per cent) after conventional operations. The only significant difference between the groups was the incidence of fatal rebleeding, which occurred in six patients after conservative surgery compared with none after conventional surgery (P less than 0.02, Fisher's exact test).