[Our experience in the surgical treatment of perforated peptic ulcer]

The authors report their experience in the treatment of perforated peptic ulcer. From August 1992 to December 1995 a total of 23 patients (14 cases of gastric ulcer and 9 cases of duodenal ulcer), mean age 67.5 years, underwent emergency surgery for perforated peptic ulcer. The operations performed included: simple gastrorrhaphy in 19 cases (11 for gastric ulcer, 8 for duodenal ulcer); gastrorrhaphy with pyloroplasty + GEA in 1 case of gastric ulcer; gastrorrhaphy with pyloroplasty in 2 cases (1 for gastric ulcer, 1 for duodenal ulcer); gastric resection in 1 case of gastric ulcer. One case of perioperative mortality occurred, equivalent to 4.3%, whereas the percentage of complications observed was 13% (2 cases of IRA, 1 case of wound infection). The mean age of patients (67.5 years) and the high percentage of associated major pathologies (39.1%) oriented the choice of therapy towards ulcerorrhaphy. In the authors' opinion this rapid and easy to perform method represents the best treatment of perforated peptic ulcer; the validity of ulcerorrhaphy is confirmed by the reduced mortality (4.3%) and the low percentage of morbidity (13%) found in this series.