Delayed gastric emptying after vagotomy and drainage in the spinal cord injury patient.

In patients with pre-existing spinal cord injuries, truncal vagotomy and drainage procedures resulted in an unacceptable incidence of prolonged gastric stasis. After gastric resection without vagotomy or closure of perforated ulcers, spinal cord injury patients resumed normal gastrointestinal function within 10 days. After vagotomy, three patients were unable to eat for 25 to 57 days. A fourth patient with large gastric residual volumes died of aspiration on the 13th day after vagotomy.