Parietal cell vagotomy in a surgical training program

Parietal cell vagotomy was performed in 48 patients at the Parkland Memorial Hospital and the Dallas Veterans Administration Hospital between April 1977 and January 1981. The maximum follow-up time was 50 months and the average was 28 months. Seventy-five percent of the patients were followed for more than 1 year. There were no operative deaths. Four patients (8.3 percent) had persistent postoperative side effects including two documented ulcer recurrences (4.2 percent). Acid secretion studies were reviewed to characterize the longterm effect of parietal cell vagotomy. These studies demonstrated marked postoperative reductions in gastric acid secretion. The results of this study suggest that with the simplified technique described in this paper, parietal cell vagotomy can be performed with minimal mortality and morbidity by surgical residents under direct staff supervision.