The influence of an intact pylorus on postprandial enteroglucagon and neurotensin release after upper gastric surgery.

Upper partial gastrectomy for carcinoma of the gastric cardia or fundus is unavoidably accompanied by truncal vagotomy, so it is orthodox practice to carry out pyloroplasty with this procedure. In order to assess the effect of leaving an intact pylorus in this operation, 21 patients were investigated with an oral hypertonic load (200 ml 50 per cent glucose solution), and blood was taken at intervals during the test, for the ileal gut hormones, enteroglucagon and neurotensin, as well as for measurements of haematocrit and blood glucose. Clinical features of dumping during the test were sought. There were 7 patients with upper partial gastrectomy, truncal vagotomy and an intact pylorus, 7 patients without a pylorus (total or near total gastrectomy) and 7 patients not subjected to gastric surgery. No significant difference was found in any of the measurements between gastrectomy patients with an intact pylorus and those draining through an enterostomy. However, both these groups differed significantly from normal controls in having greater rates of rise and higher peak values of enteroglucagon, neurotensin, haematocrit and blood glucose, together with a more frequent occurrence of dumping symptoms during the test. As the above measurements probably reflect transit of glucose into the small intestine, the findings in this study suggest that leaving an intact unstenosed pylorus is unlikely to lead to gastric stasis following upper partial gastrectomy.