Effect of fundoplication on the gastric emptying of liquids

To evaluate the effect of fundoplication on the gastric emptying (GE) of liquids, the authors studied 96 male Wistar rats divided into three main groups: group E (early postoperative), formed by 32 rats that received physiological saline as a test meal and whose gastric emptying was evaluated 8 days after surgery; group L (late postoperative), which received the same test meal but was evaluated 29 days after surgery; and group G (glucose), which received 5% glucose in water and was studied 8 days after surgery. Each group was subdivided in two subgroups of 16 animals: in one (atropine), the animals received intravenous (I.V.) atropine sulfate (0.3 mg/100 mg rat weight) 60 minutes before GE test; the other subgroup (controls) received I.V. physiological saline. In both subgroups 8 animals had been submitted to fundoplication and 8 to sham operation. Every test meal, containing 6 mg% red phenol, was infused by gravity through a metallic catheter. Gastric retention was determined by measuring the concentration of the marker in the liquid recovered from the stomach 10 minutes after infusion. In the animals of group E, fundoplication increased the gastric emptying of physiological saline, both in the control and the atropine subgroups. In the L group, gastric retention values were similar in fundoplication and sham-operated rats, suggesting an adaptation of the stomach to the fundoplication. In the G group, fundoplication enhanced GE among the control animals, but not among those receiving I.V. atropine sulfate. These results support the importance of gastric emptying studies in every patient to be submitted to fundoplication.