Traditional Gastric Resections in 1963

GASTRIC RESECTION has been accepted for nearly three decades as a standard procedure when surgery is indicated for peptic ulcer. Within the past few years, however, the efficacy of vagotomy combined either with resection, gastroenterostomy, or pyloroplasty has been established and the concept of gastric freezing introduced, so that the relative value of the traditional resection without vagotomy is now challenged. This paper will evaluate the present position of gastric resection as the sole operation for various types of peptic ulcer. For the purposes of this discussion, duodenal, gastric, and anastomotic ulcers will be considered. The Billroth I resection will be defined as any resection in which the distal stomach has been removed and the gastric remnant anastomosed to the duodenum; the Billroth II will refer to those distal resections in which the gastric remnant is anastomosed to the jejunum just beyond the ligament of Treitz. The arguments for or