Endoscopic monitoring of the gastric lesser curve following proximal gastric vagotomy.

The lesser curve gastric mucosa was examined endoscopically in 60 patients, 3 to 6 days after performing proximal gastric vagotomy. Minor and equivocal changes were seen in only 3 patients. Three patients had adjunctive splenectomy but did not show any evidence of mucosal vascular insufficiency in the proximal stomach. Our findings do not confirm a report from other investigators of lesser curve gastric ulceration attributed to partial ischaemia short of lesser curve necrosis. Endoscopy should be considered in patients developing unexplained features following proximal gastric vagotomy.