Effect of selective proximal and truncal vagotomy on canine gallbladder bile composition

In 6 dogs the influence of consecutively a selective proximal vagotomy (SPV) and a truncal vagotomy (TV) on gallbladder bile composition was studied. Following SPV no significant changes in biliary lipids were observed. On the other hand, after TV an increase of deoxycholic acid (D) and a concomitant decrease of cholic acid (C) occurred, resulting in a marked increase of the D/C ratio. Although a positive correlation was found between the D/C ratio and the lithogenic index of bile, the change in bile acid composition after TV was accompanied with only a slight, statistically not significant increase of the lithogenic index. It is concluded that in the dog neither SPV nor TV is a definitely lithogenic procedure.