What are the risks of gastrectomy?
Surgery for peptic ulcer is effective, but it may result in a variety of postoperative complications. After gastrectomy, as many as 30% of patients have significant symptoms. An operation called highly selective vagotomy is now preferred for ulcer management, and is safer than gastrectomy. After a gastrectomy, several abnormalities may develop that produce symptoms related to food intake. This happens largely because the stomach, which serves as a food reservoir, has been reduced in its capacity by the surgery. Other surgical procedures that often accompany gastrectomy for ulcer disease can also contribute to later symptoms: vagotomy, which lessens acid production and slows stomach emptying, and pyloroplasty, which enlarges the opening between the stomach and small intestine to facilitate emptying of the stomach. Some patients experience light-headedness, heart palpitations or racing heart, sweating, and nausea and vomiting after a meal. These may be symptoms of “dumping syndrome,” as
