Symposium on peptic ulcer disease: 2. Vagotomy and its variations.

All the forms of vagotomy that are used in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease lower the acid secretion by the gastric parietal cells. The preferred operation is the proximal selective vagotomy in which the innervation to the antrum and pylorus is undisturbed. Therefore the necessity for any type of drainage procedure is obviated. The results of a number of clinical trials can be considered highly satisfactory. The undue rate of ulcer recurrence sometimes reported after the operation is possibly attributable to its incorrect performance.