Cholelithiasis following subtotal gastric resection with truncal vagotomy

Subtotal gastrectomy with bilateral truncal vagotomy is a good operation for peptic ulcer disease. Recurrence rates are low, and diarrhea and dumping are usually tolerable. The development of gallstones following this procedure, however, has become more problematic in that further opeation becomes a real necessity. In two groups of patients having undergone a standardized subtotal gastrectomy, with and without truncal vagotomy, only 6 per cent of the patients with resection alone had biliary calculi develop. This is consistent with the incidence of gallstone formation in the normal population. However, in the group undergoing resection with bilateral vagotomy, 21 per cent had gallstones develop which were detected by ultrasonography or oral cholecystography and confirmed at operation. This suggests that cholelithiasis following truncal vagotomy is a long term complication which must be recognized and, unless otherwise indicated, requires an additional surgical procedure. Only when results of long term follow-up studies verify the therapeutic effectiveness of such operations as highly selective or parietal cell vagotomy without drainage will a more physiologically sound operation be within our grasp.