Anterior seromyotomy with posterior truncal vagotomy in chronic duodenal ulcer

Anterior seromyotomy with posterior truncal vagotomy was carried out on 25 patients with chronic duodenal ulcer to evaluate its effectiveness as an acid reducing procedure. There was a 76.7% and 76.8% reduction in basal and maximal acid output respectively (augmented histamine test). Twenty-three patients were asymptomatic at 4-6 years' follow-up, while two patients had delayed gastric emptying not necessitating reoperation. There was no mortality. This procedure is a reasonable alternative to highly selective vagotomy.