[Risk of carcinoma of the stomach after vagotomy]

To evaluate the influence of vagotomy in the development of gastric carcinoma, we conducted a prospective, controlled study of 183 patients diagnosed of gastric or duodenal peptic ulcer resistant to medical treatment; all cases had been treated by oxyntic cell vagotomy, without drainage, in the Departamento de Cirugía del Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla. Once a year all patients were clinically, radiologically and endoscopically evaluated. In 149 patients followed during 14 years, we did not find any case of carcinoma or premalignant lesions. Therefore, our experience does not suggest that, in the absence of drainage, vagotomy constitutes a contributory factor in the development of gastric carcinoma.