Ulcer recurrence, morbidity, and mortality after operations for duodenal ulcer

Due to fear of duodenal ulcer recurrence, PGV is not yet accepted by most surgeons in the United States as a satisfactory operation for treatment of intractable duodenal ulcer. Currently PGV has a 30 day operative mortality of 0.3 percent, a severe morbidity of 1 percent, and a long-term ulcer recurrence rate of about 11 percent. Truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty has a mortality of 0.7 percent, a morbidity of 5 percent, and a recurrence rate of about 10 percent. Truncal vagotomy and antrectomy has a mortality of 1 percent, a morbidity of 5 percent, and a recurrence rate of about 2 percent. Thus, PGV is preferable to vagotomy and pyloroplasty since vagotomy and pyloroplasty has higher mortality and morbidity rates. The recurrence rate is similar. Furthermore, since postoperative morbidity is more difficult to manage than ulcer recurrence, a cogent argument can be made that PGV is superior to vagotomy and antrectomy as an operation for intractable duodenal ulcer.