[Restarting of electric gastric activity in situ after a minor gastric intervention]

The restarting of the electrical gastric activity after an extramucous myotomy according to the Heller's techniques with Dor's fundoplicatio was observed in a woman by 3 pairs of electrodes implanted in the wall of the gastric fundus, corpus and antrum at 3, 11 and 20 cm from the pylorus. The electrical activity was recorded on the day of surgery and on the 1st, 3rd and 5th postoperative day. Feeding was allowed on the 5th day. The gastric frequency decreased significantly on the 1st (2.92 +/- 0.09 c/min), increased on the 3rd (3.29 +/- 0.04 c/min.) and appeared normal on the day of surgery and on the 5th day (3.10 +/- 0.09 c/min). The pattern of the Potential Pacesetter (PP) changed during the observation: it appeared with a great amplitude on the day of surgery, slowed on the 1st, was polyphasic on the 3rd and shorter and weaker on the 5th day. The spiking activity was observed on the 3rd day for 20 minutes and it allowed to establish the restoration of the normal migrating complexes. A decrease of the gastric frequency and an increase of the slow wave progression was induced by the first alimentary resumption (yoghurt). The gastric frequency increased and the velocity of the slow wave progression decreased as soon as the ingestion was over. The receptive relaxation of stomach should be related to these latter phenomena.